III. Begins with an orchestral prelude based on the opening chorale, whose assertive harmonies have now turned to painful ones. There is a crisis; the tension is suddenly relieved, and the choir enters humbly and peacefully singing Ps. 131 complete, in what is almost a popular song (although in 10/4 time!). It is something like a love-duet between the men and the boys. In this atmosphere of humility, there is a final chorale coda (Ps. 133, vs. 1) – a prayer for peace.
I hope my score is legible. In order to help with the Hebrew text, I shall enclose a typewritten copy of the words (the Hebrew words of Ps. 2 are a tongue-breaker!). The score contains exact notes on the pronunciation.
As to the orchestra, I have kept to the prescribed forces, except that there will be a large percussion group necessary (xylophone, glockenspiel, bongos, chimes, etc., in addition to the usual timpani, drums, cymbals, etc.). Also, I am sure more strings will be necessary than the number you list – especially the low ones. Certainly one bass will not do the trick. One of the three trumpets must be very good indeed, in order to perform several difficult solo passages. There is also an extensive harp part.
One last matter; I am conducting a program of my own music with the New York Philharmonic in early July, and I have been asked if I could include the Chichester Psalms. I realize that this would deprive you of the world premiere by a couple of weeks; do you have any serious objections?
In any case I wish you well with the piece; and I may even take your performance as an excuse to visit Sussex in late July. I should dearly love to hear this music in your cathedral.
Faithfully yours,
Leonard Bernstein
508. Walter Hussey to Leonard Bernstein
The Deanery, Chichester, England
11 June 1965
Dear Dr. Bernstein,
I have just returned after being away for five weeks as a result of a tiny cerebral thrombosis. In due course the doctors assure me that I shall be quite fit again and need take no notice of it, but just at present I feel slightly old and tired!
The Chichester Psalms arrived yesterday and I do indeed thank you for them. They are splendid and exactly the sort of thing that I was hoping for. So far as I can judge they seem to be admirable and I thank you most warmly for them.
If it is at all possible for you to come over and hear them in late July we shall be delighted for you to do so. In this case please come and stay at the Deanery. Would you like to conduct them?
As to the orchestra, Mr. Birch has got this in hand and will I am sure follow your wishes.
Yours sincerely,
Walter Hussey
509. Walter Hussey to Leonard Bernstein
The Deanery, Chichester, England
8 July 1965
Dear Mr. Bernstein,
Thank you very much for your letter.
I expect by this time you will have heard from Mr. Robert Lantz giving you a formal invitation to come for the Music Festival, and the final rehearsal and the first performance of the Chichester Psalms. It is unfortunately impossible to get lodgings anywhere in this part of the world at the time, they are all booked up eight or nine months ahead for the Goodwood Race Meeting which takes place on the Monday to Saturday of that week. This is most unfortunate for us because it does make it frightfully hard for any people to get accommodation for the Music Festival within a fifteen to twenty mile range. I have had a word with numbers of hotels and they all tell me the same. However, I shall indeed be delighted for you and Mrs. Bernstein to come here and Mr. and Mrs. Robert Elwes, who live just a mile or two from the Cathedral in a very lovely house, will be delighted for the children to go there. They have two children aged 13 and 10 of their own, and a swimming pool, if only the weather will allow them to use it! They are very nice people indeed and I am sure you could feel absolutely happy for them to be there. If this would be satisfactory for you Mrs. Elwes says she would be delighted for them to be there from Thursday until Monday, and of course I shall be only too glad for you to be here.
I am delighted to hear that Chuck Solomon hopes to be in Chichester for the Psalms and I have written to tell him so, but my only fear is that if he had not made the arrangements already he may well find it impossible to get anywhere. It would be great to see him again.
Please tell me if there is any way in which I can help you further.
Yours sincerely,
Walter Hussey
510. Leonard Bernstein to Walter Hussey
17 July 1965
My dear Dean Hussey,
Our Psalms had their “creation” last night, to a standing ovation, and I was overjoyed for you as well as for myself. I enclose this morning's Times review, which pays you just credit for your kindness. Even juster credit is paid you by the program notes. I'm having them sent you: won't you need them for your own use?
I have your last letter, and am most grateful for your solicitude. Mrs. Bernstein and I will be most happy to stay at the Deanery; and my children are terribly excited at the prospect of living with an English family, and making British friends of their own age. Please tell Mr. and Mrs. Elwes how very grateful we are. The only minor hitch is that our visit is planned one day earlier; we should arrive on the 28th and leave on Sunday, 1st August. I hope this does not complicate your and the Elwes' lives.
We are leaving here the 27th, arriving in London that night, which we shall spend at the Savoy Hotel. We have covering bookings at the Savoy for the whole 10-day period, so don't hesitate to evict us if you would have to; in any emergency there will be a roof over our heads.
Looking forward with immense pleasure –
Yours,
Leonard Bernstein131
511. Walter Hussey to Leonard Bernstein
The Deanery, Chichester, England
22 July 1965132
Dear Mr. Bernstein,
I am delighted you & Mrs. Bernstein & the children can come over to England for the first performance of the Psalms. All is ready – except the weather! Miss Chavez133 of CBS records will meet you at London Air Port and has laid on a car, if you should require it, to bring you to Chichester the next day.
I am very glad that the Psalms have met with such a warm reception – I'm sure they entirely deserve it.
I wrote to Chuck a while back, but have not heard. Still, he may well turn up when the time comes!
There was an excellent article about the Chichester Psalms in the Times (of London), but I'm afraid I haven't got a copy now. However, I'll have one when you come.
Looking forward to seeing you with great pleasure – & some little apprehension!
Yours ever,
Walter Hussey
512. Walter Hussey to Leonard Bernstein
The Deanery, Chichester, England
1 August 1965
Dear Lenny,
I hope you arrived safely back at the Savoy last night – with no breakdowns!
I cannot begin to tell you how grateful I am for the Chichester Psalms. This morning the Bishop of Chichester said to the Archdeacon – they were a new revelation to him & brought home afresh the meaning of them, joyous & ecstatic & calm & poetic – he said you could imagine “David dancing before the ark”.
We were all thrilled with them. I was specially excited that they came into being at all as a statement of praise that is oecumenical. I shall be tremendously proud for them to go around the world bearing the name of Chichester.
I hope the family are enjoying their brief stay in London. They won the hearts of all who met them! But especially Felicia, who has gone straight to the number 1 place of the most charming & attractive of wives.
Please come again any time you can. You will always be welcome & it will be an honour to have you here.
Bless you indeed for everything.
Walter
P.S. I wonder if there is any chance of getting the MS – to go with those of Britten and others who have written things for us? It doesn't matter if it is terribly crossed out & untidy!
513. Felicia
Bernstein to Walter Hussey
Savoy Hotel, London
3 August 1965
Dear Walter,
This is the first chance I've had to sit down in relative peace since our drive back from Chichester! As you can imagine it's been non-stop – finally today I asked for time off to see an old childhood friend and write to you.
We will all remember Chichester for many reasons but the main reason is you. We talk about you so much and miss you already; so you see, for all our sakes you simply must return the visit. Do come!
Bless you for all your kindness and hospitality, and think of us once in a while as you stare at the yellow carpet! A reference to the coffee disaster!
With best wishes from us all.
Felicia134
514. Leonard Bernstein to Walter Hussey
Savoy Hotel, London
6 August 1965
Dear Walter,
We are all about to leave London, and in this last hour I wanted somehow to talk to you again, to thank you, not only on a social level, but on the deepest personal one, for all the things you are, do, and stand for. I shall carry sweet memories of Chichester for a long time.
The Psalms are, of course, dedicated to you, and you should receive the very first published copy. Meanwhile I shall arrange to have a photocopy sent you.
Again, Felicia and I send you our most affectionate thanks.
Lenny B.135
515. Leonard Bernstein to Walter Hussey
20 September 1965
My dear Walter,
Chichester seems awfully far away by now, but the memory of our days there is a glowing one, reinforced this week by the test pressing of the recording, which should be out within the month. I'll see that you get one of the first copies.
I have also been busy proofreading the vocal score, which is to appear at the same time as the record, and of course you'll get one of these too.
Apropos of the printed score, I must confess that I have yielded to a very human weakness. I could not resist sharing the dedication between you and Chuck Solomon. (You get the first credit, as having commissioned it, and there is then a line dedicating it to Chuck.) I happened to talk to him the other day, and he sounded very down; and in that instant it occurred to me that this dedication would set him up for at least a year. It's just what he needs – and I am sure that you, of all people, will understand the nature of this gesture, since you and Chuck are such good friends, and since he was the originator of our relationship, yours and mine. I somehow feel I owe this to him. I hope you agree.
Again, thanks from us all for your kindness and friendship.
Yours,
Lenny136
516. Walter Hussey to Leonard Bernstein
The Deanery, Chichester, England
16 October 1965
My dear Lenny,
I found your letter here when I returned from a fortnight's holiday, and that is the reason it has gone unanswered so long. I am very sorry.
Thank you indeed for writing it. I also carry with me the most happy memories of your visit – now we are having the most wonderful, cloudless weather that we should have had then!
Yes indeed, I entirely understand about Chuck and approve his sharing the dedication. I am sure he will, rightly, be as pleased as a dog with two tails. I sent him, some while ago, a letter thanking him for his part in the Chichester Psalms and telling him it would never have come about apart from him!
Of course I am only to pay the bill for the car-hire. I was only anxious that we should not both pay it.
I am most anxious, and so are many other people, to hear the record. It will be very exciting. It is most good of you to say you will send me a copy of the score and the record. It's far more than I deserve. Have you the original score you wrote? I feel awful asking, but I should love to have it if you can spare it, to put with the others. It doesn't matter how rough it is – Britten's is in pencil & a mass of scratching out!
Give my love to Felicia and the children. I look back on your visit as a great time and a very happy one.
Yours ever,
Walter
P.S. I hear rumours that the BBC want to do the Chichester Psalms again from here, with a different orchestra. I do hope they are true!
517. John Cage to Leonard Bernstein
Stony Point, NY
28 October 1965
Dear Lenny,
Was very good to be with you, Felicia, and the Fosses. I'm now organizing a show and sale of 20th century music mss. (Stable Gallery April 1966) for the benefit of the Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts, Inc. Gifts to the Foundation are tax-exempt. Will you give us a page of your work?137 Wd. be very grateful.
As ever,
John (Cage)
518. Leonard Bernstein to Walter Hussey
29 October 1965
[Dear Walter,]
I can't describe to you the surprise and pleasure of receiving your gift. It is at least as extraordinary of you to remember my liking your pen as it is for you to have sent me one.
And, of course, the pen's first act-in-office is to write this note, sending thanks and affection.
The recording and the published score should be arriving any day now. Meanwhile I am sending you my original “fair copy” – though alas, only a photostat of the manuscript, since the true-original is committed to the Library of Congress, as is the case with everything I write. This is the next-best; it is all in my own hand, and I hope it pleases you.
Bless you, your health, your work, and your touching generosity in sending me this treasureable pen.
Warmest greetings,
Lenny138
519. George Szell139 to Leonard Bernstein
New York, NY
29 October 1965
Dear Lenny,
Many many thanks for your sweet note. Your wishes for pleasure with your orchestra have already come true: I am enjoying myself with them thoroughly and find them in better shape & spirits than I can remember.140 The prospect to spend a little time with you after you return is positively enticing. I hope it will happen. Meanwhile, all good wishes for a pleasant & restful vacation.
Ever cordially,
George
520. Yo-Yo Ma141 to Leonard Bernstein
138 East 94th Street, New York, NY
21 December 1965
Dear Mr. Bernstein,
Do you still remember me? Now I am ten years old. This year I learned with Prof. Leonard Rose three concertos: Saint-Saëns', Boccherini's and Lalo's. Last week my sister and I played in a Christmas Concert in Juilliard School. We are invited to give a joint recital in Brearley School on January 19, 1966 at 1:45 p.m.
If you have time, I would be glad to play for you.
Yo-Yo Ma
521. Leonard Bernstein to John Adams142
[27 January 1966]
Dear Mr. Adams,
I am touched by your intelligent letter, but hard put to answer it. When you depict me as “turning my back” on “new” musical trends you do me a disservice, to say nothing of making an irrelevancy. One writes what one hears within one, not without. Lord knows I am sufficiently exposed to the “influences” of non-tonal music; but obviously I have not been conditioned by them. Mahler apart, I cannot conceive music (my own music) divorced from tonality. Whether this is good or bad is, again, irrelevant. The only meaningful thing is the truth of the creative act. The rest of the chips will fall where they may.
Good luck to you.143
522. Leonard Bernstein to Felicia Bernstein
Hotel Bristol, Vienna, Austria
2 March 1966
Fleshy darling,
It is a week to the hour that I am in Vienna, and this is literally the first moment free. It's been all rehearsals, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, studying at night, & trying (not too successfully) to get some sleep. The time-change threw me for a loop; I'm just now coming out of it.
But all goes well.144 The orchestra is cheering, the directors are fawning, the press is voluminous
and astonishingly sympathetic. Fischer-Dieskau is a dream-singer – I've never heard anyone better.145 And the rest of the cast is superb, with a weakness here or there – but not important. Dr. Caius is a German with a frightful accent in Italian which will sound bad on the record, & Oncina's Fenton is not ideal. But you can't have everything. The Opera people have given me extra rehearsals; the orchestra goes overtime without a word of protest (never before, since Strauss himself, says Dr. Hilbert). In short, I'm a sort of Jewish hero who has replaced Karajan – and all this at the moment of the general elections which happen tomorrow, & are full of anti-Semitic issues & overtones. It's a strange feeling …
I've just come from a place in Nussberg – a suburb – an old palais devoted to vineyard activity, where some members of the orchestra took me to play for me “Schrammelmusik” – old, authentic, “kitsch” Viennese tunes arranged for 4 instruments – the original Rosenkavalier stage-music. Fantastic. Lots of glorious wine, platters of hot roast chickens, hams, Gott weiss was. Very touching, from orchestra men: toasts, good feeling. As I say, a very strange moment for me.
The Kripsies146 have been here, & invited me daily to his performances & to dinner or lunch – I funked out ever time, being left with a bad conscience, especially since they sent me (us) huge lilies, & today, as a farewell gift (!) two boxes of Demel chocolates. They're in San Francisco now: and I've written a conscience-letter.
Maazel is also here doing Carmen. I heard 10 minutes & left: bad. But the musical life is wilder than Milan: everything seems to center around it, & Falstaff is the event everyone is waiting for.
Many of Willie Weissel's147 friends have written or called – I don't dare to accept or answer: què lata. Luchino [Visconti] is tired & morose, at once doing Falstaff & preparing Rosenkavalier for London, & cutting a movie: he's insane, & surrounded by numerous young Italian assistants, which gives him pleasure. And now I go to be fed & fêted by Regina Resnick [Resnik], who lives across the square, & has been preparing a risotto for days.
As you can see, it's a fascinating, glorious life so far. The haut-monde is yet to come. Bet you can't wait! But I'll tell you one thing: I can't wait for you to come. You'll love Vienna, somehow I smell it.
The Leonard Bernstein Letters Page 65