Timms Lindgren Steff..

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36 LOWELL LINDGREN AND COLIN TIMMS I am somewhat perplexed that I have not received the replies that should have arrived in my hands by the 7th of the current month in order to prevent the first of the aforementioned virtuosos from returning to Italy. I also wonder why I have not seen here any report of the arrival of Durastanti, and am, furthermore, made anxious by seeing Salvai uncertain of the promises offered her by the contract that your m. i. lordship was pleased to draw up for her. All these circumstances justify the frankness with which I request some news concerning the aforementioned envelope. Nor am I less eager for the continuation of your greatly esteemed grace, while I am ever more . . .. Sara~o da cinque settimane che da Senesino nostro fu trasmesso a Vostra Signoria Illustrissima un piego con quel tanto ch'Ella giudicava necessario per poter ultimare il di lui accord0 con cotesta Real Accademia di Musica. Con la medesima occasione io Le mandai le risoluzioni di Berselli uniformi a cib che in di Lei nome gli era stato da me proposto. Mi tiene in qualche perplessita il non riceverne quei riscontri che doveano capitare in mie mani per farli tenere a1 primo de' virtuosi suddetti partiti di conserva alla volta d'Italia fin0 dal7. del corrente. Meraviglia insieme mi [p. 21 reca, che non s'abbia qui avviso alcuno dell'arrivo della Signora Durastanti, e mi aggiunge sollecitudine il vedere la Signora Salvai incerta di quello che possa promettersi dal trattato che V. S. Ill."" si compiaciuta d'intavolare per essa. Giustifichino tutti questi motivi la confidenza che prendo di domandarLe qualche nuova del piego accennato; nC mi creda men premuroso della continuazione della stimatissima Sua grazia, mentre sono sempre piu . . .. Francesco Bernardi (c.1680-c.January 1759), called Senesino, received an annual salary of 6,650-7,000 dollars in Dresden, 1717-20 (Prolss, Dresden, 12811, and Fiirstenau, Dresden, ii, 10511). Handel heard him there, and he sang for seven seasons with the Royal Academy, i.e., during all but its first spring season (Winton Dean, in New Grove 2, xxiii, 78-9, and Highfill, Biographical Dictionary, xiii, 249-55). One singer who-like Senesin-was employed at Dresden in 1717-20, then at the Royal Academy in 1720-8, is not mentioned in Pallavicini's letters to Riva. This is the bass Giuseppe Maria Boschi (P. 1698-1744), whose annual salary at Dresden was 3,325-3,500 dollars (Prolss, Dresden, 12811, and Fiirstenau, Dresden, ii, 105n). He had already sung at the London opera house (in 1710-11) and was the only new recruit in 1720 to have done so (Winton Dean, in New Grove 2, iv, 50, and Highfill, Biographical Dictionary, ii, 23940). N. Pallavicini to Riva Dresden, 24 April 1720 [Wednesday] Having been favoured by your most illustrious lordship's most esteemed letter of the 9th, I did not fail to send your enclosure promptly to Senesino, who continues to travel with difficulty because of the bad weather that he has encountered. What you tell me of the problems that have arisen since the conclusion of the agreement tallies with the news written by Handel to one of his correspondents here, from which-although it is based partly on suspicion-we have concluded that the Academy is divided by a kind of schism. I thank your m. i. lordship for your advice concerning Salvai, with which she will be able to proceed more confidently. And it gave me infinite pleasure to have news of our Casimiro [Avelloni]; your description of his manner of speaking and gesturing was vivid and virtually life-like. I must surely have provoked great curses from his wife [Durastanti] for having been one of those who counselled her to take the road for Holland. THE CORRESPONDENCE OF AGOSTINO STEFFANI AND GIUSEPPE RIVA, 1720-1728 37 I await letters from the first [Senesino or Avelloni] and an opportunity of obeying your m. i. lordship in order to please you, since I am . . .. Favorito da Vostra Signoria Illustrissima colla stimatissima sua carta de' 9. non ho mancato d'indrizzare prontamente l'inchiusami a1 Signor Senesino, il quale proseguiva con fatica il suo viaggio mercL? il pessimo tempo che gli L? toccato. Ci6 ch'Ella mi accenna delle difficolta insorte dopo la conclusion del negozio confronta colle nuove scritte qua da Monsieur Hendel ad un suo corrispondente, dalle quali sebbene in parte sospette veniva a comprendersi esservi nell'Accademia una specie [p. 21 di scisma. Rendo grazie a V. S. Ill."" di cio che mi ha awisato intorno alla Signora Salvai, con che potra questa prendere piu accertate misure. Mi ha dato poi gusto infinito il sentir nuove del nostro Signor Casimiro; e la circostanza del suo parlare, e del suo gesto me 10 ha dipinto vivo, vivo. Gran maladizioni mi saro attirato io dalla moglie per essere stato uno di quelli che l'anno consigliata di far la strada d'olanda. Attendo lettere del primo e qualche occasione d'ubbidire V. S. Ill."" per cornpiacarLe, che Sono . . .. Casimiro Avelloni, the husband of Durastanti, may have been a Neapolitan nobleman. Four letters by him, and twenty-three that discuss or mention him, are in Zamboni's correspondence (Lindgren, 'Zamboni', 187, S. v. Avelloni). He was often involved in business negotiations, and some of his deal- ings appear to have been unsavoury. 0. Pallavicini to Riva Dresden, 7 August 1720 Wednesday] If the newsletter from Holland can be trusted, your most illustrious lordship has followed the king [George I] to Germany. I am sending the present [letter] to ascertain whether this is correct and also to learn whether, by chance, our Don Casimiro took advantage of this opportunity to send me a certain small box, since I have not heard a word from him since his letter of 3 June, in which I enjoyed the honour of a most delicious postscript from your m. i. lordship. I imagine that he is in the country in the company of his wife [Durastanti], who does not like to let him out of her sight. Senesino and Berselli must now be on their way, and your m. i. lordship will have more reliable information about them from Modena, through which the first was intending to travel. They will not be pleased to hear that you are on this side of the channel and that they will not find you in London when they arrive. Those news items that we receive from there now and then refer to a certain Monsieur de L'Orme, who was formerly a minister at this court. I await news from your m. i. lordship, who I hope will be able to tell me of the prosperous health and good humour in which you will have found our friend Abbot Mauro. I continue to laugh about the wig of that N[oble] M[an], and continue even more to have a most particular deference . . .. Se il gazzettiere d'Olanda merita fede, Vostra Signoria Illustrissima ha seguitato il re in Alemagna. Mi sia lecito d'azzardar la presente per accertarmene; come anche d'informarmi, se per sorte il nostro Don Casimiro si fosse prevalto di questa occasione per ispedirmi certa cassetta, giacchC da una lettera de' 3 di giugno in qua, nella quale godei l'onore d'un deliziosissimo P. S. di V. S. Ill."", non ho piu veduto parola di lui. Me10 figuro alla campagna a tener compagnia alla moglie, [p. 21 che non ama perderlo di vista. Devono a quest'ora essere in viaggio Senesino e Berselli, e V. S. Ill."" ne avra piu certo riscontro da Modena per dove il primo era intenzionato di passare. Non piacera loro il sentirLa di qua dal mare, e il non doverLa a1 loro arrivo trovare in Londra.
38 LOWELL LINDGREN AND COLIN TIMMS Quelle nuove cosi fatte, che ne riceviamo di quando in quando, vengono ad un certo Monsieur de l'orme, che vi fu altre volte ministro di questa corte. 10 m'attengo [p. 31 a quelle di V. S. Ill."" che spero potra darmene della prospera salute e del buon umore in cui avera trovato il nostro Signor Abate Mauro. 10 duro a ridere della barrucca di quel N[obil] H[uomo], e piu ad essere con particolarissimo ossequio . . .. Charles Pierre de L'Orme was the British resident in Dresden from January 1710 to December 1714 (Bittner and GroB, Repertorium, 455). The N[obil] H[uomo] with the wig was presumably Abbot Mauro, though he may instead have been someone in London about whom Riva had written. P. Pallavicini to Riva Dresden, 10 August 1720 [Saturday] On the same day that I wrote my last letter to your most illustrious lordship, Monsieur Le Coq arrived here and sent me your very kind letter, together with the small box [from Casimiro]. For these I offer you a thousand grateful thanks; since the order and report of our [friend] Don Casimiro are correct, he will be pleased to receive the sum of 55 shillings. Three times I tried to see the aforementioned Monsieur Le Coq without finding him at home, and he must have departed yesterday evening. Apart from the honour of knowing him, I would have had the satisfaction of speaking [with him] about your m. i. lordship; but, unless I had been thinking or discoursing geometrically, I would hardly have confirmed the good things that you have told him about me: of this I have been informed. Continue to censure me when you are in the company of Monsignor Spiga [Steffani], Marquis Nomis and Abbot Mauro, all of whom I respect without ceasing, and believe in my most obsequious deference to your m. i. lordship, to whom(I must convey both the greetings and the complaints of Tosi, who has not seen a reply to one [letter] that he wrote to you two months ago . . .. I1 giorno medesimo ch'io scrissi a Vostra Signoria Illustrissima la mia antecedente, arrivb qua Monsieur Le Coq, e mi fece tenere assieme con la cassetta il di Lei gentilissimo foglio. Sono a renderglene mille devote grazie; i! giusta l'ordine et il ragguaglio del nostro Don Casimiro si compiacera di ricevere l'importare di 55. schellini. Fino a tre volte ho cercato di vedere il prefato Monsieur Le Coq, senza trovarlo in casa, e deve esser ripartito ier sera. Oltre [p. 21 all'onore di conoscerlo, averei awto la soddisfazione di parlare di V. S. - Ill."", ma, non pensando n6 discorrendo io geometricamente, awei malamente sostenuto il bene, ch'Ella gli ha detto di me, che di tanto sono informato. Seguiti a maltrattarmi in compagnia di Monsignor di Spiga, del Signor Marchese Nomis, e del Signor Abate Mauro, da me senza h e reveriti, e mi creda colla piu ossequiosa riconoscenza di V. S. Ill."", a cui devo portare i complimenti e le querele insieme del Tosi per non aver veduto risposta ad una sua scrittaLe due mesi sono. . .. Jacques Le Coq represented Saxony in England in 171 8-28 and in France in 1719-20 and 1728-9 (Hausmann, Repertorium, 3345). Twenty-four letters in Zamboni's correspondence refer to him (Lindgren, 'Zamboni', 190, S.V. Le Coq). Marquis Andrea Gasparo de Nomis served as the Tuscan representative in Hanover from at least 1713 until the mid-1720s (Feldkamp, 'Nachlass', 263 and 306). C> In 1693 the castrato Pier Francesco Tosi (16541732) performed and taught in London; 'from 1701 to 1723 he travelled extensively as musical and diplomatic agent of Emperor Joseph I and the Elector Palatine'; and in 1724 he was once again in London (Malcolm BoydJohn Rosselli, in New Grove 2, xxv, 647, and Highfill, Biographical Dictionary, xv, 334). THE CORRESPONDENCE OF AGOSTINO STEFFANI AND GIUSEPPE RIVA, 1720-1 728 39 Q. Pallavicini to Riva Dresden, 26 October 1720 [Saturday] Before your most illustrious lordship re-crosses the channel, allow me to greet you once more from nearby. And since courtesies are always accompanied by requests (I assume that my writing to you is a courtesy, not a bore), permit me to ask you at the same time for some news of Senesino. I have not seen a line from him since he left Frankfurt, and I am impatient to know what he thinks of England and what the English think of him. I do not doubt but that your m. i. lordship will have had a detailed report on him, and so I hasten to ask you to send it to me, and also to forward to the aforesaid the annexed letter, which is a very solemn mercurial. I have for a long time owed thanks both to you and to our [friend] Abbot Mauro for the Latin verses that you kindly shared with me. The friends of the abbot must hope that his body will remain as lively and fresh as his spirit, and I more than anyone else wish him this. You look after yourself, too, and believe in my true, indeed very true respect . . .. Prima che Vostra Signoria Illustrissima ripassi il mare, mi permetta di riverirLa anche una volta da vicino; ma perch6 le finezze non vanno mai da qualche interesse disgiunte, se pur finezza e non tedio i! il mio scriverle, mi permetta nello stesso di domandarLe qualche nuova di Senesino. Da Francofort in qua io non ho veduto riga di suo, e vivo impaziente di sapere come gli riesca 1'Inghilterra e come egli medesimo riesca agli inglesi. Non dubito che V. S. Ill."" non ne abbia esatta notizia, e percib mi avanzo a pregarLa di comunicarmela, Ip. 21 come anche di voler indrizzar a1 suddetto l'annessa, ch'i! una solennissima mercuriale. Gl'i! lungo tempo ch'io mi trovo in obbligo di render grazie si a Lei che a1 nostro Signor Abate Mauro dei versi latini di cui anno voluto farmi parte. Gli amici del Signor Abate devono desiderare che il suo corpo si mantenga vivo e fresco a misura del suo spirito, et io piu d'ogn'altro gliel'auguro. Si conservi Ella egualmente, e mi creda un vero, ma vero ossequio . . .. See 111. 3. R. Pallavicini to Riva Dresden, 13 March 1723 [Saturday] I never address letters to our friend Berenstadt without feeling a secret remorse at restricting myself with your most illustrious lordship to a simple envelope. Nor do I seem to have assuaged this feeling by burdening the same [i.e., Berenstadt] every time with giving you a reminder of my devotion. The P.S. on the backside, for which which I am accused, heaps reproof upon my indolence, so that I can no longer postpone making apologies, both for the past and the future. Enjoy those comic scenes, of which there will be no end so long as singers and musical operas remain in the world. And keep me in your favour, which I shall always supremely value, with the sincere ambition of becoming better acquainted . . .. 10 non mai indirizzo lettere a1 nostro amico Berenstadt che non provi un segreto rimorso di ristringermi con Vostra Signoria Illustrissima ad una semplice sopracoperta. N6 perch6 incarichi ogni volta il medesimo di farLe memoria della mia devozione mi pare d'aver soddisfatto. Aggiunge rimproveri alla mia indolenza il P. S. deretano, con cui mi trovo prevenuto, onde non posso piu indugiare a fargliene, e per 10 passato e per l'awenire, mie scuse. Si goda Ella quelle commedie, di cui non manchera la sorgente fin che dureranno a1 mondo musici ed opere musicali, e mi conservi la grazia Sua, ch'io stimerb sempre sommamente con ambizione sincera di farmi conoscere . . ..
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Timms Lindgren Steff..

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