Letter from W. H. Auden to H. W. Henze, November 11, 1967

Writing styles

• 1.

  Handwriting, Auden, Wystan Hugh, ballpoint pen (blue).

Text Constitution

• 1.

  "1"crossed out
• 2.

  "ive""" overwritten with "ive"
• 3.

  "I h"uncertain transcription
• 4.

  "(33)"added in the right margin
• 5.

  "to"uncertain transcription
• 6.

  "(47)"added in the right margin
• 7.

  "our"uncertain transcription
• 8.

  "catastrophe"uncertain transcription
• 9.

  "destroyed"uncertain transcription

Commentary

• 1.

  "… Nov 11 th 1967 ,"From a reference to the death of Emma Eiermann, Auden and Kallmans’ housekeeper in Kirchstetten, on 4 November 1967, it can be concluded that the letter was written in 1967. Moreover, the date is confirmed by the fact that Auden notes some corrections for the study score of the children’s opera Moralities for which he wrote the libretto based on Aesop’s fables between 1966 and 1967.
• 2.

  "missprints"recte "misprints".
• 3.

  "Cincinatti"recte "Cincinnati".
• 4.

  "… be corrected in Cincinatti ."Here, Auden is referring to the place the premiere of the children’s opera Moralities was scheduled to take place on 18 May 1968. It could not be ascertained whether these corrections were actually considered for the Cincinnati premiere. However, it is certain that the misprints were not corrected by Schott, even in the most recent study score published in 2000.
• 5.

  "p"abbreviation of "page".
• 6.

  "… . ( p page 29)"The word “tobasco” can be found in the following verses of the Speaker in Moralities, Part II, Section 8: “But crows are no more horses / than chutney is tobasco: / Their efforts at aggiornamento / ended in fiasco”. In the study score of Moralities published by Schott in 2000, p. 80, the name of the sauce is still printed incorrectly as “tobasco”.
• 7.

  "… gurling gale and great waves"This sentence can be found in the following verses of the Captain in Moralities, Part III, Section 1: “Wild will be tonight / with a gurgling storm and great waves.” In the study score, p. 88, the word “storm” has not been replaced with the word “gale”.
• 8.

  "… send her to Charlie Colver"This sentence is located in Moralities, Part III, Section 6, where the Boys sing: “Kiss her once, kiss her twice, / bring her orchids on a salver: / split in her eye if she starts to cry / and send her to Charlie Calver”. As in the previous two cases, the suggestions provided by Auden for the Cincinnati premiere are not taken into account in the study score, pp. 125-126, published after the performance.
• 9.

  "didnt"recte "didn’t".
• 10.

  "… we didnt hear from you."Dionysus is the main character in the opera The Bassarids, which at the time of this letter had already been completed and premiered in Salzburg on 6 August 1966. It is not clear which prelude Auden is referring to. Probably a text for a new version of Dionysus’ entrance in this opera.
• 11.

  "… died of a heart attack."Emma Eiermann was Auden and Kallman’s housekeeper in Kirchstetten. After her death she was celebrated in a memorial poem by Auden entitled Elegy in Memoriam Emma Eimermann. See the poem in The Complete Works of W. H. Auden: Poems, Volume II: 1940–1973 by W. H. Auden, p. 576.