Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Genevan philosopher and writer, 1712-1778
Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of the 18th century. His political philosophy influenced the Enlightenment in France and across Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolution and the overall development of modern political and educational thought. Rousseau was also a successful composer of music, who wrote seven operas as well as music in other forms, and made contributions to music as a theorist. As a composer, his music was a blend of the late Baroque style and the emergent Classical fashion, and he belongs to the same generation of transitional composers as Christoph Willibald Gluck and C. P. E. Bach.
Source: Wikipedia
Genevan philosopher and writer (1712-1778). Autograph letter signed „JJRousseau“. n. p. 4to. 1 p.
$ 29,078 / 25.000 €
(101505)
To the Marquis de Beffroi. Ferme Monquin in Maubec: “Madame la marquise enriches a rather cold place with the treasures of Provence; I beg you, Monsieur, to convey to her the thanks of my wife [Thérèse Levasseur, Rousseau’s long-time companion, whom he had officially married on August 30, 1768] and mine. I knew nothing of your misfortune until your kindness informed me. I assure you of my deepest sympathy; I am even less saddened by the theft than indignant at the insult. I hope the thieves will be discovered and punished as they deserve, though I greatly fear this will not lead to the recovery of the stolen items. I do not know how much longer the snow, which has made our roads impassable to carriages, will keep me a prisoner here.
I would rejoice in this delay if it tempted me to make one more trip to Bourgoin to pay my respects to you and Madame. But if I do not have that happiness, I beg you once again, Monsieur, to be assured that my wife and I will leave with our hearts full of her kindness and yours. And if it is granted to me to occasionally renew the assurances of the tender and lasting remembrance we shall keep, I will count that privilege among those that flatter me the most…” As in many of his letters from 1770 onward, Rousseau inscribed the following quatrain at the head of the page: “Pauvres aveugles que nous sommes ! Ciel ! Démasque les imposteurs Et force leurs barbares cœurs À s’ouvrir aux regards des hommes.” (Poor blind souls that we are! Heaven! Unmask the impostors And force their barbarous hearts To open to the eyes of men.).
philosopher (1712-1778). Autograph manuscript. 4to. 1/2 p. Stained.
$ 2,094 / 1.800 €
(89522)
Reading note taken from l'Histoire de l'Allemagne du père Joseph Barre (1748), volume 4, p. 325, as stated by Rousseau, who wrote this note at the time of the publication of Barre's book, while he was working with his patron Madame Dupin on a work On the Equality of Men and Women, which was never published. This note relates to the 11th century. „L'Empereur Henri étant entré sur les terres de la Comtesse Mathilde et les ayant abandonnées au pillage, la comtesse, ou plus tôt, dit le P. Barre, le Duc Welf son mari, vint à la rencontre des Imperiaux et gagna contre eux une grande bataille dans la plaine Sorbaria“.
philosopher (1712-1778). Eigenhändiges Musikmanuskript. ohne Ort und Datum. Quer-Folio. 2 pp.
$ 14,539 / 12.500 €
(91816)
Niederschrift in Rousseaus Hand von einer Komposition von Johann Chrstian Bach (1772) aus der Oper Temistocle auf ein Libretto von Pietro Metastasio „Nulla risolvo nulla risolva e perdo e perdo il padre in tanto“.
Genevan philosopher and writer (1712-1778). Autograph letter signed „Renou“. [Monquin]. 8vo. 1 p. Light marginal stains on one edge.
$ 11,049 / 9.500 €
(94968)
To Marquis de BEFFROY, governor of Bourgoin; [In August 1768, Rousseau, under the pseudonym Renou, found refuge in Bourgoin; it was there that he married Thérèse Levasseur on August 30.] “Having returned two days ago from a short trip, I have been waiting until now without success for the moment to go and thank you and Madame la Marquise for the honor of your remembrance and your kindnesses both for Madame Renou and for me. I will not delay, Sir, in fulfilling this duty with the most genuine eagerness.” The botanist adds in a postscript: “I was unable to uproot the Ornithogales although I worked for it, but during my trip I was given a bulb of the Fly Orchid which I hope you will be kind enough to give a small spot in your garden.”.
French philosopher and writer (1712-1778). Autograph musical manuscript signed (with his initials, "E.59 JJR. cop"). No place. Oblong folio. Title page and 19 pp. score. Sewn.
$ 20,936 / 18.000 €
(92324/BN61415)
A musical manuscript entitled "Che faro Senza Euridice, Aria del Sigr. Ferdinando Bertoni", each page comprising ten staves traced by hand in a pale ink. The musical notes for the aria are attractively penned in a darker ink for two parts violin ("Violini"), two parts oboe ("Oboe"), two parts horn ("Corni"), two parts viola ("Viole") and the voice part ("Orfeo") with lyrics penned in Rousseau's hand, the indications of movement ("Andantino", "Presto", "Andno" etc.), as well as the indications of intensity and nuance, all penned in red ink.
Each measure is divided in the middle by a very light vertical pencil line. With four blank pages of staves at the conclusion, the whole tied with a small pale blue ribbon. An elegant manuscript which still retains Rousseau's light pencil annotation ("19 p. a 8S - 7L12") at the head of the title-page, indicating the price charged for this copy. - Ferdinando Bertoni (1725-1813) was an Italian composer and organist who composed 70 operas, all of which fell into oblivion with the exception of "Orfeo", which was first performed in Venice in 1776. The work was based on the same libretto for the work of Christoph Willibald Gluck entitled "Orfeo ed Euridice". The aria Rousseau copied is the most famous one of the opera; in the third act, Orfeo mourns the loss of Euridice ("Che faro senza Euridice"). - In his autobiographical work "Confessions", Volume VIII, Rousseau recounted how, in 1751, he ceased working for Dupin de Francueil and started working as a professional music copyist in order to provide a consistent and reliable source of income. In September 1770 he resumed his work as a music copyist and practiced it until 1777, charging ten sols per page. Rousseau's work as a music copyist has been described as remarkable for its beauty and reliability. - Some very light, minor staining and foxing throughout, a few small pinholes to the title-page, and one page with a small area of paper loss to the lower right corner, only very minimally affecting the manuscript..
sold
P.A.
Autograph ist nicht mehr verfügbar
Autograph letter signed ("JJRousseau").
Autograph ist nicht mehr verfügbar
To Mr. Mussard, in French, informing him that Rousseau's play, Narcissus, is to be performed tomorrow and urging him not to tell anyone. "I make good my promise, Sir, in notifying you that we are giving tomorrow, Monday, the first and probably only showing of Narcissus. If you definitely want to see it, I advise you to come here tomorrow, and if you are as indifferent to its fate as I am, I advise you not to come. In any event, I urge you to keep it secret. Messrs. de Gauffecourt, d'Holbach, Grimm, you, and La Noue are alone in my confidence; the others only have suspicions that should not be confirmed [...]" (transl. from the French original). - Rousseau's play "Narcissus: or The Self-Admired" was only performed twice in his lifetime: in Paris, on December 18, 1752, and again on the 20th.
Eigenh. Brief m. U.
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To Louise-Marie-Madelaine Dupin (1706-1799): „[…] Je vous remercie, Madame, avec bien de la reconnaissance de vos bontés et de votre souvenir. Sans savoir quel est le sujet de votre procès je serai dans l'inquiétude jusqu'à ce que j'apprenne quelle en est la décision. Pour éviter de la fatigue à vos domestiques, vous pouvez si vous voulez bien me tirer de peine me faire écrire un mot par la poste. Quant à l'Ecrit dont vous voulez bien vous souvenir, Madame, s'il peut vous amuser dans un quart d'heure d'ennui, il aura été bien mieux employé que je n'avais espéré. En vous rappelant la respectable mémoire d'un homme de bien qui vous honorait, puisse ce même écrit vous faire songer quelquefois à un autre homme inférieur à lui dans toute autre chose excepté dans son respect et dans ses sentiments pour vous. […]“.
2 autograph manuscripts.
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