The charming lyrical work, composed by Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) in 1842 to words by Nikolaus Lenau, will be on show at the library for the first time this month.
The copy acquired by the Bodleian in 2007 is a presentation copy prepared in Frankfurt am Main in 1845 for Henriette Keyl, the wife of a local wine merchant. While the Romantic composer was often asked to create such copies of his works as mementoes for friends, only two illustrated versions are known.
Schilflied joins the only other surviving piece illustrated by Mendelssohn, Im Walde (In the Forest), which is already owned by the Bodleian.
“This is one of the most beautiful of all Mendelssohn manuscripts,” said Peter Ward-Jones, Music Librarian at the Bodleian Library. “It is a wonderful addition to the Bodleian’s already outstanding collection of the composer’s manuscripts, a few of which can be viewed alongside the new acquisition.”
Both illustrated compositions will be on show alongside a drawing of the Mendelssohn family group in their sitting room at Soden, a spa town north of Frankfurt. Mendelssohn sketched this in September 1844, and it is one of his few non-landscape drawings. Also on show will be his account book for 1840-46, containing careful records of his financial affairs. In April 1845, for example, expenses include music copying, having pianos tuned, dinner at the Mainlust, a well-known Frankfurt inn, with composer Félicien David, and rent.
The acquisition of the Schilflied was made possible by the generosity of the B.H. Breslauer Foundation.
The display can be viewed until April 12 2008, Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm and Saturday 9am to 4.30pm in the Exhibition Room, Old Schools Quadrangle, Catte Street, Oxford. Admission free.
