Louis Spohr an Ureli Corelli Hill in New York

Cassel, January 4, 1845

Highly Respected Sir:

As honorable to me as your invitation to conduct the first American music festival is, my duties are unfortunately of a character to compel me to decline. You will know from the English journals that I was unable to get a furlough for the Norwich festival three years ago. Since then I have made many unpleasant experiences of the same character. Only a short time ago I had to decline another invitation from Norwich, a second one from Berlin, where my ”Fall of Bablyon“ was given for the first time¹, a third for the opening of a new music hall in Hamburg, and was only luckty enough to secure a week's furlough to conduct a music festival in Braunschweig², where my ”Fall of Bablyon“ was also performed. To visit America I should have to have a furlough of at least three months, and such I dare not ask. I must therefore forego the honor which you had planned for me, and I make haste to inform you of the fact since your letter was en route an incredibly long time, and did not reach my hands until the last days of the year which has just ended. If you should nevertheless still have a mind to perform my oratorio ˮThe Fall of Babylon,“ you can get the score, pianoforte score and voice parts with English text from Professor Edward Taylor (Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, London), for our German edition published by Breitkopf und Hartel, in Leipsic, has only German words.
If now you want to turn to Mendelssohn, know that he lives in Frankfort-on-the Main, has severed his connections with Berlin, and will not be compelled, like me, to decline your invitation because of inability to get leave of absence. Have the goodness to greet my daughter³ and her family most heartily, and say to her that my new opera was received with an enthusiasm wholly unheard of in Cassel on New Year's Day⁴, and will be repeated within a few days. We shall soon write to her and report our musical doings during the winter. In the home of her sister⁵ and in our own all is well. Greatly did we rejoice at the intelligence that you are contemplating another visit to Europe and that we may hope to see you here. Farewell and keep in friendly recollection your devoted

Louis Spohr