Hector BERLIOZ is working on his sacred trilogy “The Childhood of Christ”. 1854.

Hector BERLIOZ (1803.1869)

Autograph letter signed to Johann Christian Lobe.

Two pages in-8°. Address and wax seal with the image of Beethoven.

Paris. January 21, 1854.

“I have almost finished the second part of The Flight into Egypt . »

Very beautiful letter from Berlioz busy creating The Flight into Egypt , the second part of his sacred trilogy The Childhood of Christ .

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“My dear Lobe, I thank you for thinking of sending me your papers, and even more for having accompanied your sending with such a kind letter. God grant that I can later completely justify the sympathy you show me and not compromise your vote. I am working a lot at the moment in the hope that the horrible war that is brewing will not take place and will not hinder my next trip to Germany [the Crimean War against Russia would begin in March 1854]. I'm almost done with the second part of The Flight into Egypt . This work, much more extensive than the one you know, is called L'Arrivée . It is in fact the arrival of the Holy Family in Sais; there are (in addition to the tenor reciting) three characters, the Virgin Mary, St Joseph, a father of a family, and large choirs and instrumental music, and it contains 8 pieces. I would like you to be happy with this score, the style of which, I believe, is higher than that of the previous one. A thousand sincere friendships. Your devoted Hector Berlioz…”

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L'Enfance du Christ was created in its entirety on December 10, 1854 at the Salle Herz, in Paris, under the direction of Berlioz himself and immediately enjoyed great success.

Among the first and warmest admirers of Berlioz in Germany, the writer and musician Johann Christian Lobe (1797-1881) was a flautist in the Weimar theater orchestra before founding a music institute in the same city in 1842, then to settle in 1846 in Leipzig where he directed his own musical revue. Lobe discovered Berlioz's music at a concert in Weimar in 1837, met the composer in 1842 and subsequently remained in correspondence with him. In his Memoirs, Berlioz speaks of Lobe as “this type of true German musician”.