Page:Rolland - A musical tour through the land of the past.djvu/130

118 He remained faithful to Paris, and Paris remained faithful to him. His music continued to be engraved in France and to be performed at the Concert Spirituel. Telemann, on his side, spoke with enthusiasm of his visit, and fought the cause of French music in Germany. The Hamburgische Berichte von gelehrten Sachen says in 1737: "Herr Telemann will greatly oblige the connoisseurs of music if, as he promises, he will describe the present condition of music in Paris, as he came to know it by his own experience, and if he will in this way seek to make French music, which he has done so much to make the fashion, even more highly valued in Germany than it is."—Telemann began to carry out this design. In a preface dated 1742 he announces that he has already put on paper "a good part" of the account of his visit, and that only the lack of time has hitherto prevented him from completing it. It is all the more desirable to publish it, he says, in that he hopes to dispose "to some extent of the prejudices which are here and there entertained against French music." Unfortunately it is not known what has become of these notes.

In his old age this excellent man divided his heart between two passions: music and flowers. Letters of his are extant dating from 1742 in which he asks for flowers; he is, he says, "insatiable where hyacinths and tulips are concerned; and greedy for ranunculi, and especially for anemones."—He suffered in his old age: from weakness of the legs and failing sight. But his musical activity and his good humour were never impaired. On the score of some airs written in 1762 he wrote some verses:

"With an ink too thick, with foul pens, with bad