Edward Taylor an Louis Spohr in Kassel

D^r. Louis Spohr
Hesse Cassel
Germany
 
 
Red Lion Court
Fleet Street
Aug. 23. 1842
 
My Dear & honoured Friend
 
Your letter (and that of Madame Spohr to Margaret¹) gave me the welcome assurance that you returned to Cassel with recruited health. I lost no time in conveying your thanks to the Duke of Cambridge. He is at present out of Town, but I called on his brother, the Duke of Sussex, who kindly understood to inform the Duke of Cambridge. I shall not write down that his Royal Highness said of your Prince², but you may easily guess what his noble & liberal mind would dictate.
I thank you, most sincerly, for the kind confidance you are pleased to place in me as the Conductor of your Oratorio: & I can only say, in return, that I will do my best to derserve it.
I have had another small rehearsal with Cramer, Lindley & Turle, and tried many times the scene with Belshazzar. I have no fear for the Quartet ”Strike the Harp”, for (as you say) we English singers are so accustomed to sing unaccompanied part music, that it presents no difficulty to us.
I should not have written again so soon but for a conversation I have just had with Mr. Cocks, a large Music importer & publisher here. He tells me that, in order to secure the copyright of your Oratorio to your publisher at Vienna, (whom I presume to be Haslinger) I must take care not to publish the English edition before the German one, & that the best & safest way to prevent any piracy, or any improper use being made of your work, is to publish at Vienna & London on the same day. Acting upon this advice, I have requested Cocks, (who was writing to Vienna) to say that I should publish the English edition on the 12^th Sept^r3 that is the first day of the Festival week. I hope this will meet your & your publisher’s wishes on the subject, as I understood from one of your former letters that the Festival week was to be the time of publication; but I was not aware, till now, that it was desirable to publish on the same day (either earlier or later) I will comform to it. – My edition is printed, but not published. The only copy at present completed will, I hope, be delivered to you by my eldest Brother, if you have not already received it from him.
I have conveyed your message to the Mayor of Norwich⁴ & to the Committee. They all deeply mourn your compelled absence from our Festival, & desire me to present you their grateful & cordial assurances of respect. With my best Compliments to Madame Spohr, I am My Dear Friend
 
Ever Yours most sincerly Edw. Taylor.
 
There is one thing in my Dedication of the English version of the Oratorio which my Son⁵ says it is neccessary to explain to a German. I have added no title to your name accept the prefix of D^r. My reason is that, in England, when a man has attained your degree of eminence, it is regarded rather as an absuredity to add any title to it. Thus to every works of Milton it is simply aid in the title page ”the author John Miton” no is it ever added that he was Foreign Secretary of State to the Lord Protector of England. And though our great Philosopher Bacon was made a Nobleman, nobody knows him by his Title ”Lord Verulam“, but simply by his original birth name of ”Bacon“. The highest nobility is that of genius, which no moment can either give or take away.