Pauline Viardot (1821-1910) - photo 1
Pauline Viardot (1821-1910) - photo 2
Pauline Viardot (1821-1910) - photo 3

Pauline Viardot (1821-1910)

Lot 37
30.07.2020 00:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 1 250
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 381245
Lot 37 | Pauline Viardot (1821-1910)
Estimate value
£ 1 500 – 2 500
VIARDOT, Pauline (1821-1910). Autograph music manuscript for the song ‘Chanson d’autrefois’ (VWV 1129), n.p. [Baden-Baden], n.d. [c.1884]

Three pages, 343 x 264mm, bifolium, ruled with 12 staves per page, scored for voice and piano, four systems of three staves per page, certain of the pedal marks apparently added later by Viardot, pencil attribution in another hand (small loss at base of bifolium hinge, cropped at outer margin, a little split along the central horizontal fold).

Text by Victor Hugo, in French, from the poem Chanson d’autrefois, opening ‘Jamais elle ne raille/ Etant un calme esprit’. Provenance: Maria Callas (1923-1977) – sold (as part of) Sotheby’s Milan, 12 December 2007, lot 88.

An autograph manuscript for one of the mezzo-soprano Pauline Viardot’s own compositions – a setting for Victor Hugo’s poem Chanson d'autrefois – from the collection of Maria Callas. Viardot did not regard herself as a composer – rather, as a singer and a teacher – yet her work, undertaken both for the pleasure of composing and to provide teaching pieces for her pupils, was highly accomplished, praised by her erstwhile tutor Franz Liszt as genius, even. She wrote more than 100 songs and melodies to texts in several languages – from Pushkin to Goethe – most of which were published in her lifetime. The present song was composed, as the majority of her works, during her retirement in Baden-Baden and was published as one of 6 Mélodies (1884).
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
09.07.2020 – 30.07.2020
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.
?>