Klarinet Archive - Posting 000027.txt from 2000/06

From: LeliaLoban@-----.com
Subj: [kl] D. Leeson and Mozart, K. 581
Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2000 16:11:52 -0400

Daniel Leeson writes,
>Doug asks about real knowledge concerning the final account of the
>manuscripts of both K. 622 and 581. To be blunt, there is absolutely no
>real knowledge of what happened to them, only stories of unknown origin
>and questionable accuracy.
[snip]
>There has arisen a story with a detail that
>cannot be confirmed, namely that he carried the manuscripts in a
>briefcase or suitcase or picnic basket which he pawned at some unknown
>location and under unknown circumstance sometime around 1800.
[snip]
>Besides, it makes no sense to suggest that one is going to pawn a
>carrying case of some sort and not look inside it to see if there is
>anything left over from previous usage.

As a flea market and yard sale veteran, I think this sort of thing happens *a
lot*. Most of the carrying cases I've bought at yard sales, especially, have
contained some leavings from the previous owner. I inspect the case right
there at the yard sale and return the property on the spot to the owner,
who's invariably amazed and says something like, "I *was sure* I checked in
there!" Most of what I find is trash (obsolete bus schedules, magazines and
so forth), but I've found enough non-trash to make the Stadler story seem at
least plausible.

Last summer at a flea market, I bought a circular-shaped American Tourister
suitcase (a good quality hard case, with some interior padding, meant for
ladies' broad brimmed summer hats). It was in nearly perfect condition,
clean inside, and seemed empty. I bought it as a way to safely transport my
18" bodhran drum, which normally hangs on my wall. When I got the case home,
I made sure the drum fit inside, and also checked to see whether the flap in
the interior of the lid would hold the kip (stick) without putting pressure
on the drum. The kip fit. I put the case in a closet and the drum back on
the wall.

Months later, when I took out the case again, I found a sheaf of about a
dozen sheets of binder paper stuffed deep inside that flap! I'd never
noticed the papers, even when I checked how the kip fit in there. The papers
weren't Mozart MSS, alas -- they were a child's schoolwork from the 1950s.
*To the child,* and to her parents, that meticulously written and as-yet
ungraded homework, which she probably finished on vacation and needed to turn
in when she returned, must have been terribly important -- yet there it was,
after all these years.

Dan writes,
>I should add that the lack of reliable information about what happened
>to the manuscripts is the best thing possible for a fiction mystery book
>on the matter. I can make up anything I like and no one can say,
>"That's not what history says!"

Great idea! I hope you finish the novel and sell it. A few months ago,
somebody here asked about fiction where the clarinet is important. I don't
think any of us came up with anything, did we? I'm glad a *real clarinetist*
wants to write such a book!

I don't think it's necessary to carry "write what you know" to the extreme of
only writing about subjects in which one is an expert, but expertise can add
or detract so much! I'm thinking of Jane Langton's _Divine Inspiration_, a
murder mystery in which organists, an organ restorationist, a pipe organ and
stained glass construction figure prominently. She's got a musical
background, and knows a lot about churches, but it seems to me that she based
much of her plot on technical research into these specialized subjects, not
personal knowledge, and that she misunderstood significant aspects of what
her sources told her. As a result, this novel (while it has its moments)
doesn't measure up to her usual high standards. OTOH, Marvin Kaye's
stupendous dark fantasy novel, _Fantastique_, benefits greatly from his
knowledge of Berlioz, Berg, _Woyzeck_, _Wozzeck_ and related subjects (which
he weaves together masterfully), not to mention his considerable personal
experience as a drama director. The right author wrote that book.

Lelia
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cthulhu Worshippers Support School Prayer!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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