Rosicrucian Beacon Magazine - 2010-09 - AMORC

wrote the music attributed to Giovannini.
We read again in Grove’s account of Giovannini
that the song Willst du dein Herz mir schenken has been
attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach for some time. The
reason was that it was found in Anna Magdelena’s (Bach’s
wife) second and largest music book, with the marking
“Aria di Giovannini” on the outside of the page. Scholars
considered this to be an Italianisation of Bach’s
first name Johann, but this has been widely
disputed since then. Dr Alfred Heusz 5 argued
that if Giovannini had really written it, he would
have been so proud of it, that he surely would
have made it known to the world that he was the composer
of it, and would have published it with his other songs.
This argument loses all its strength since we know
that Giovannini was the Count of Saint-Germain. The
Count seemed to thrive on just this type of mystification.
He never attempted to justify his moves and actions even
under the most embarrassing circumstances. We might
also point out that it was quite common for one composer
to copy by hand an admired composition of another. Bach
frequently did that with illustrious contemporaries like
Vivaldi for example.
There is an unmistakable Bach flavour in the
song in question but that proves nothing because we
notice this also in other works of Saint-Germain. His
music is delicate, graceful and charming without being
extremely profound or original. It does show a particular
characteristic which can be readily felt and recognised
Although neither profound nor original, the
Count’s music is delicate, graceful and charming.
throughout the various works, large and small. It definitely
proves to be the typical product of an elegant period,
without ever becoming boring or trivial. It does not attain
the Olympic heights of a Johann Sebastian Bach however,
nor does it quite match the nostalgic beauty of Mozart;
but it rather compares favourably with Telemann, Quantz,
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and his other contemporaries.
We find the work overshadowed also by the musical
giants before and after Bach, Mozart and Beethoven.
That accounts for the total eclipse of Saint-Germain’s
music. There is a wealth of beautiful music hidden in the
great libraries of the world, just waiting for someone to
rediscover and revive them.
Fact Not Fiction
We have tried here to present absolute facts known to
be true about the Count, and to discard all doubtful
information and frivolous gossip. Many facets of the life
of this strange man never become entirely clear. Napoleon
iii ordered a complete dossier to be made on the Count.
Unfortunately, after this was done, the complete material
with all its priceless documentation went up in flames with
the building in which it was kept, as if it were destined
to remain a secret.
Endnotes
1. Maurice Quentin de la Tour, 1704 – 1788, famous for his
portraits of Louis XV and the royal family. There were two
painters with the name of Vanloo: Jean Baptiste (1684-1745) and
Carle (1705-1765). Madame de Genlis was probably referring
to the latter.
Saint Germain composed musical works under the name of Giovannini;
illustrated here is his “Six Sonatas” published around 1750 by someone called
Walsh.
2. Poemes philosophique sur l’homme, Mercier, Paris, 1795.
3. Le mémorial d’un mondain by J M Comte de Lamberg (Au Cap
Corse 1774).
4. Although we usually find the name saint spelled out, the Count
seems to have preferred the abbreviation St.
5. Zeitschrift für Musik (March 1925, Leipzig)
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