Rare lettre musicale d’Antonin Dvorak sur Ludmila et ses projets d’oratorio

Très belle et rare lettre d'Antonin Dvorak.

"I have the pleasure of sending you the vocal score of the first part of the Ludmila and I hope it will arrived quite safely in London when this letter will reach you.

Please, let me immediately know whether you get it. Mr Zavrtal [Ladislas Josef Zavrtal, chef d’orchestre tchèque, qui travaillait en Angleterre] (I think you remember him well) is just now in Prague, and I will next week leave for London and will be kind enough to take the fullscore with and deliver in your hands.

Today I received a letter from Dr Millward from Birmingham [Robert Harding Millward (1838-1903), avocat et mécène anglais]. He asks me if I would write a new grand sacred oratorio for the Festival of 1888 and what a subject will be. I have two, the one is from Mr Beringer [Oskar Beringer, pianiste allemand, grand ami de Dvorak] "Samson and Dalila” already printed and worked out very well. I must say, I like it in this present strape, very much. You will also have a quite stuff from the bohemian story. It is : John Hus! What do you mean of it? When I asked you my question in regarding to my “psalm” you did not give me any answer. Please do me the favour and tell me a word […]”.

[L'oratorio Sainte Ludmila, opus 71, composé entre septembre 1885 et mai 1886, fut créé le 15 octobre 1886, lors du festival de Leeds].