The lost Mendelssohn song and accompanying letter. Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2014. UPDATE: IT SOLD FOR £60,000.
A lost song by Mendelssohn has come to light in America and will be sold at Christie’s in London on May 21. Entitled Das Menschen Herz ist ein Schacht or The heart of man is like a mine it is estimated to sell for £15,000-25,000. The work was re-discovered amongst the papers of the current owner’s grandfather, a musician and will feature in the sale of Valuable Manuscripts and Printed Books.
The existence of the song, which comprises 29 bars for an alto voice and piano in A flat major, was known to scholars at it had been sold at auction in 1862 and again in 1872. It was never published and the whereabouts has since been a musical mystery. It is not known how it came to be in America. It is accompanied by a May 1842 letter from Mendelssohn to theatre manager Johann Teichmann asking him not to circulate the song, which appears to have been a private commission.
The song was performed exclusively for the BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme by Christopher Glynn and Amy Williamson from the Royal College of Music. Here is a link if you want to hear it: www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-27253167