Friday, August 9, 2024

August 9 - Reynaldo Hahn (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for August 9th are here: Reynaldo Hahn; Albert Ketélbey (2019), Johann Michael Bach (2020), Johann Michael Bach (2021)Reynaldo Hahn (2022), and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa (2023)

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Reynaldo Hahn (9 August 1874 – 28 January 1947) was a composer, conductor, and salon singer.  A few of his delicate songs are still in the active repertoire.

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Two of Them

 

Marcel Proust met Reynaldo Hahn in May 1894, when Proust was twenty-two and Hahn was nineteen. The two were lovers until the summer of 1896. Proust’s letters to Hahn in subsequent years are a testament to their enduringly close friendship. – adapted from François Proulx,  “Private Proust: Letters and Drawings to Reynaldo Hahn” (https://library.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/static/collections/proust/index.html)


Reynaldo Hahn was introduced

To fledgling writer Marcel Proust,

There followed an affair so fiery

That it’s a pity there’s no diary.

 

And when the coals had ceased to smolder,

And each of them was growing older,

Research on the case confirms

That they remained on friendly terms.

 

They took the breakup very well,

Without much angst or private hell....

And that is all I have to tell

About Reynaldo and Marcel. 

 

 

 

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