Music from the Livre d'Or of Charlotte de Rothschild
The use of musical autograph albums collected by important European families was a widespread phenomenon during the mid-19th century. One of the most famous albums was the 'Livre d'Or' of Charlotte de Rothschild. A member of the Rothschild banking family, the Baroness Charlotte de Rothschild (1807-1859) was an important patron of musicians; during the mid-19th century her house was visited by the most prominent composers of the time. When she welcomed her musical guests, she would invite them to write a short piece in her 'Livre d'Or'. The result was a book with autograph manuscripts by Mendelssohn, Halévy, Meyerbeer, Rubinstein, Chopin, Rossini, Bellini, and many others.
Today's programme explores some of the compositions contained in the 'Livre d'Or', many of which are transmitted in readings that differ significantly from those available in published edition. The 'Livre d'Or' was willed by Charlotte to her daughter Mathilde de Rothschild (1836-1924), a remarkable musician who studied with Chopin. Mathilde continued the tradition to have composers enter their autographs into the book. She was also an accomplished composer, and the programme starts with a selection of her songs.
The Programme
| I. Vocal Pieces composed by the Baroness Mathilde [Willy] de Rothschild | |
| "Schmerzvergessen" "O wie beneid' ich deine Seele" "My Lady Sleeps" Romance, "Si vous n'avez rien à me dire" Les papillons couleur de neige |
Mathilde de Rothschild (1836-1924) |
| II. Earlier piano pieces from the Livre d'Or | |
| Notturno (1830) | Henri Herz (1803-1888) |
| Capriccio (1833) | Jacob Rosenhain (1813-1894) |
| "Moderato" (1829) | Johann Baptist Cramer (1771-1858) |
| Scherzo (1829) | Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847) |
| III. Vocal pieces from the Livre d'Or by French composers | |
| La chanson du mousse, "La mer est ma patrie" (1847) | Félicien David (1810-1876)) |
| Romance "Adieu! vous que j'ai tant chérie," from Le Chalet (1834) (entered into the Livre d'or in 1845) | Adolphe Adam (1803-1856) |
| "O doux moment dont mon âme est ravie", from Lestocq ou l'esprit et l'amour (1834) | Daniel François Esprit Auber (1782-1871) |
| Canzonetta, "Domando a queste fronde" (1847) | Fromental Halévy (1799-1862) |
| I N T E R V A L | |
| IV. Vocal pieces from the Livre d'Or to English and German texts | |
| "The Rare Flower" (n.d.) | Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864) |
| Hüte dich, "Nachtigall, hüte dich" (1869) | Anton Rubinstein (1829-1894) |
| Nachgefühl, "Wenn die Reben wieder blühen" (composed in 1819) (1834) | Louis Spohr (1784-1859) |
| Romanze, "Es blühte ein Blümchen" (published in 1838) (1848) | Gaspare Spontini (1774-1851) |
| V. Later piano pieces from the Livre d'Or | |
| Mazourka (1852) | Jacob Rosenhain (1803-1888) |
| "Andantino" (1868) | Franz Lachner (1803-1890) |
| Mazurka (composed in 1836, published posthumously as Op. 67, No. 4) (1847) | Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849) |
| VI. Vocal pieces from the Livre d'Or by Italian composers | |
| "Mi lagnerò tacendo" (n.d.) | Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) |
| "Dolente immagine di Fille mia" (composed in 1821) (n.d.) | Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835) |
| "Già la notte s'avvicina" (1835) | Michele Carafa (1787-1872) |
| Ottava della Gerusalemme liberata di Torquato Tasso (Canto XVI, stanza 18), Canto d'Armida, "Ella dinanzi al petto" (n.d.) | Luigi Cherubini (1760-1842) |
| The year given in parentheses at the end of each item refers to the date of entry into the Livre d'Or. | |
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