306 - DUPARC (Henri Fouques-Duparc, known as), 1848–1933.

DUPARC (Henri Fouques-Duparc, known as), 1848–1933. Autograph letter signed “H. Duparc,” Vevey, [November 5, 1907], 2 pp., in-8 with envelope, addressed to Mr. Demets, music publisher. The letter discusses the tragedy that struck one of the most talented composers of his time at a very early age: in 1885, mental illness brought an end to his brilliantly begun career, while he remained fully lucid about his condition. He had founded the Société Nationale de Musique, and in this letter—sent from Vevey, Switzerland, where he had gone to seek “in complete seclusion, the peace and rest I need”—he announces his forced resignation. He declares that he is withdrawing “completely from artistic life, and it pains [him] particularly to leave the National Society […] [which he] loved so much and to which [he owes] so much[…]” Accompanied by its original cultural property export certificate from the Ministry of Culture.