Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Wolfgang, I have a letter for you and Marianne Mozartin.

Wolfgang, I have a letter for you and Marianne Mozartin:

My dear Wolfgang,
I have written some lines in German for your cousin, Marianne.
Immediately underneath my words in German you shall find my translation into English.
Yours most affectionately,
Sophie, nee Weber

Meine liebe Marianne,
Ich freue mich ebenfalls riesig, Dich kennen zu lernen! Mein lieber Schwager hat so oft und so innig von Dir gesprochen.
Ich habe immer darauf gehofft, dass ich eines Tages die grosse Ehre haben wuerde, Dich persoenlich treffen zu koennen!
Und jetzt sind meine Wuensche in Erfuehlung gegangen. Wolfgang hat so oft zu mir gesagt, dass er sich bei Dir so geborgen und daheim fuehlt--wie bei keiner anderen Person. Marianne, wenn er von Dir spricht, merke ich gleich sein zufriedendes Laecheln und das Funkeln seiner Augen. Ja, so gleucklich ist Wolfgang dann wieder, und er geniesst innerlich eine geheime Wiederkehr zu seiner Kindheit und jungem Mannesalter. Bei Dir ist Wolfgang daheim und geborgen.
Ja, Marianne, ich mache eine grosse Tournee mit meiner Mama. Du hast ja von Wolfgang von ihr sprechen hoeren. Manchmal, weisst Du, habe ich etwas Angst vor meiner Mutter. Sie kann, wie Du ja weisst, ueberkritisch und dominierend wirken; oh je. Ich habe mich aber daran gewoehnt und reagiere nicht mehr auf ihre sogenannten Anfaelle. Wenn ich gleichmuetig bleibe, dann verschlimmert sich die Lage nicht. So hat mein Papa auch auf sie reagiert, Marianne. Und bei der Reise geht es bis jetzt gut. Ich druecke meiner Mutter die Daumen, dass es auch so weitergeht. Diese Reise macht mir so viel Spass. Ach, wieder in Salzburg zu gelangen bringt mir eine so grosse Freude; ich kann sie kaum beschreiben.
Marianne--kann es wahr sein, dass Du nicht mehr in Augsburg lebst!! Ach, Du lieber Himmel!
Ich bin ja so sehr enttaeuscht, dass ich Dich nicht persoenlich treffen darf; ich habe mich so darauf gefreut. Ich hoffe, dass wir ja in Zukunft die Gelegenheit haben werden, uns persoenlich zu treffen. Ich muss mich mit der Enttaeuschung abfinden und werde Deinen Cousin Michael Mozart in Augsburg besuchen.
Liebe Marienne, es war mir gleichfalls ein Vergnuegen, Deine Bekanntschaft gemacht zu haben.
Deine wahre Freundin und Cousine
Sophie, nee Weber

My dear Marianne,
I am likewise so delighted to make your acquaintance! My dear brother-in-law has so often and so affectionately and tenderly spoken of you.
I have always hoped that one day, I would have the great honor of personally meeting you.
And now my wishes have come true.
Wolfgang has told me so often that with you, he feels so safe and at home, as with no other.
Marianne, when Wolfgang speaks of you, I notice immediately his satisfied smile and the twinkle in his eye. Yes, at that time, Wolfgang is so happy again, and he enjoys inwardly a secret return to his childhood and young manhood. With you, Wolfgang is at home and safe.
Yes, Marianne, I'm making a great tour with my mother. You've heard about my mother from Wolfgang. Well, you know, sometimes, I am a little afraid of my mother. You know, she can act overly critical and domineering. Oh, oh......But I have accustomed myself to her, and no longer react to her so-called outbursts. If I remain stoic, then the situation does not get worse.
That's also how my Papa reacted to her, Marianne.
And so far, everything has been fine on the trip.
I'm crossing my fingers that it continues this way.
I'm having such a lot of fun on this trip.
Oh, to have reached Salzburg again brings me such great joy; I can scarcely describe it.
Marianne, can it be true that you no longer live in Augsburg! Oh, my goodness gracious!
I am so very disappointed that I won't be able to meet you personally; I have been so looking forward to it. I certainly hope that in the future, we shall have the opportunity to meet each other.
I have to come to terms with my disappointment, and shall visit your cousin, Michael Mozart, in Augsburg.
Dear Marianne, it has also been a pleasure for me to have made your acquaintance.
Your true friend and cousin,
Sophie, nee Weber

To the Irish Tenor Michael Kelly:

Ah, my dear Mr. Kelly,
I am so happy to see you here in the salon!
I could never forget the happy memory of your glorious voice, dear Michael.
And yes, I adore dancing and good fun. Mama is so strict and proper, is she not.
Sometimes at the assemblies, I fairly burst at the seams and wish to dance the night away, but Mama thinks it not proper.
Oh, thank you so much for your compliments on my voice!
I take a great delight in singing. My elder sisters are such role models with their beautiful voices, but singing for me is mirth and fun, as is likewise playing the pianoforte.
I am so glad that you remember me, dear Mr. Kelly.
Oh....I am blushing. I quite forgot myself. Do forgive me. I have called you "Michael", although it is not at all proper to address you with your Christian name.
Now I am all confusion, and do not know how to address you, but shall then revert to "Mr. Kelly", unless you instruct me otherwise. (I am grinning wickedly.)
Ever yours most respectfully,
Sophie, nee Weber

Postscript:
Oh Michael, you give me good cheer! Yes, I so well remember Mama's raucousness at that last assembly, after she imbibed too much of our local heurigen Wine.
And yes, I'd be so honored to dance a reel or a jig with you now.
Ever yours,
Sophie, nee Weber

At Table:

My Dear Wolfgang,
I have this night enjoyed such cheer in the company of your dear friend, Mr. Kelly.
He has filled my whole dance card, and I have danced jigs, reels, and strathspeys with him the night away.
Mr. Kelly is most amusing and attentive to me.
He has fetched me a jug of wine, and my glass has been filled so oft I have quite lost account of the number of glasses I have sipped.
Wolfgang, it is not my custom to drink of so much wine, and I feel at present so giddy and dizzy I can scarce speak or stand upright.
Mama has asked me to inquire of Mr. Kelly if he is espoused and has a wife in Dublin, but I do not wish to broach the subject.
After all, we are but sipping wine and dancing, are we not, and it is good, jolly fun.
I see no harm that can come from such innocent pleasure, so I would not ask him so blatantly personal a question as this.
Your true sister and friend,
Sophie, nee Weber

My Dear Mr. Kelly,
I thank you with my whole heart for your advice, as I have not tasted any wine since that assembly dance you escorted Mama and me to a few days ago.
You must have at that time diluted my cup with half water, but there were so many glasses that I did not notice it.
I completely understand your air of bemusement, dear Mr. Kelly.
I thank you so much, Mr. Kelly, for the delightful time you have given me here in Salzburg, and Mama thanks you most kindly as well.
We enjoyed so much fun at table, and with the dancing!
Yours ever respectfully,
Sophie, nee Weber

All's Well That Ends Well:

My Dears,
The last thing I want is to unjustly besmirch Mr. Kelly's reputation.
I feel thus compelled to continue my tale of what transpired at the assembly this night.
You know, Michael Kelly sat with Mama and me at table and willingly refilled our wine jug.
I could tell that Mama also felt the effects of the nectar, for she laughed and smiled much more than is common with her.
And dear Mr. Kelly led me over and over to the dance floor to partner him in jigs, reels, and strathspeys. When a minuet was played, he most solicitously asked Mama for the pleasure, and she comported herself on the dance floor like a girl again.
Well, as I mentioned, I am not accustomed to having my wine cup refilled, and so often too!
I drink it sparingly, as that is my habit, and usually only at gatherings.
When the assembly ended, I could scarce raise myself from table, and I perceived that Mama was tipsy as well, so Mr. Kelly escorted us both back to the inn, which is but two blocks distance.
We needed no carriage since the distance was so small.
Mr. Kelly stood in the middle of us ladies, and each of us took one of his arms and held tightly onto it, while we each leaned on him a little for support.
Mr. Kelly escorted us inside the inn door and politely bowed to us, and we curtsied to him.
So you see, Michael, as he wishes us to call his name, was a perfect gentleman with us!
He then gave us compliments, telling us how much he enjoyed the assembly with us, and then took his leave of us.
So now to bed.
We have a comfy room at the inn "Die Zwei Turteltauben" (the Two Turtledoves) and Mama and I each have our own bed!
In one corner of our room is a new type of stove named for a former English colonist named Mr. Benjamin Franklin, who designed it. We need not use it, as it is now the height of summer.
I enjoy looking out our window, down at the parade of townsfolk, carriages, and horses parading by.
This afternoon, I ventured out a little onto a neighboring street where some sketches of charming towns caught my fancy, and I bought a few of them. Here, dear friends and family, do take a look:
Hessen in Alten Ansichten-Antique Prints of Hessen
They are not sketches of Salzburg, but I find them quite charming.
Oh yes; both Mama and I have also a soft, comfy feather bed here, and it is so comfortable to recline and look up at the steep pinewood ceiling.
Yours affectionately,
Sophie, nee Weber

Touring Salzburg:

Dearest Marianne,
Thank you so much for your kind invitation to visit with you and your kin in Bayreuth!
I have just spoken of it with Mama, and she is also most agreeable to it! This is great news!
We need not be back in Vienna so soon because my sister, Josefa, and her husband are running the boarding house for Mama in our absence. So yes, we can do it! I would love to meet you, Marianne!
We are off now too, Marianne.
Remember Herr Meinke from Prussia? He is still in Salzburg, and Mama and I have made the acquaintance of Herr and Frau Georg Zeller, a hat maker from Vienna. We are together renting a carriage to take us to visit the fortress in Salzburg this day.
Yours affectionately,
Sophie, nee Weber

At Our Inn:

Mein lieber Wolfgang,
Mama and I have not as yet been to call upon your dear Papa.
Mama is at present reclining a great deal in our lodgings at the Two Turtledoves Inn, as our journey has been rather exhausting to her. In a day or two's time, she will be rested enough and back to her old self. As for often giving me her council, in that, she is ever the same, Wolfgang.
I am becoming more and more excited thinking of and anticipating meeting and conversing with your beloved Papa and dear sister, Nannerl.
Well, Wolfgang, you know, I do have a little more time now to practice on the pianoforte in the back room here at the inn the pieces I shall play and sing for your Papa and Nannerl.
I hope that my small effort will please them.
I do not wish to think about performing for them, Wolfgang, as the though of playing for such accomplished and such gifted artists would cause me to skip over my music.
No, Wolfgang; when I play for people, I use a trick: I just concentrate on the music; the rest takes care of itself.......
Please extend to my dear sister, Constanze, my best greetings, and I kiss your hand and remain
Your dear friend and sister,
Sophie, nee Weber

To Mademoiselle Maria Anna Mozart:
My dear Mademoiselle Mozart,
I am so happy to hear that you and your Frau Mama and Herr Papa are looking forward to our visit!
I likewise am very much looking forward to making your acquaintance.
I must run too, dear Mademoiselle Mozart, as I am called to make haste to the Salzburg Cathedral.
It is such a lofty and so beautiful an edifice, that I feel refreshed and inspired when I look upon it.
On my route back to the inn, I must make a visit to the apothecary to fetch a medicament for my Mama, who is exhausted from our long journey.
My dear Mademoiselle Mozart, we also have three little dogs in our boarding house in Vienna. One of them, called Paddy, is a terrier which originated in Scotland, called a "west highland white".
He is a true, faithful dog. The other two dogs originate from the New World, in the country south of the French territories bordering on the new republic of the United States of America, and is called a "chihuahua". They are most loyal and affectionate little dogs, and are also of a white color, with pink noses. Their names are Fawn and Tammy.
The tiniest one, Tammy, is sooo small and has hardly ever grown. She is a baby to me, and sleeps upon my bed. Fawn used to do the same, but she now sleeps on the floor in the parlor with Paddy. The reason for this change is that Fawn now sometimes picks fights with Tammy.
I shall endeavor to correct this bad habit.
Sleeping upon my bed does not always content Tammy. She sometimes will not be satisfied until she is under the covers too.
Thank you so much for your letter, Mademoiselle Mozart, and my best compliments and greetings to your Frau Mama and Herr Papa!
To you also a kiss on both cheeks,
Sophie, nee Weber

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