COVE

My Dearest Herbert,

I have attached with this letter a copy of In a Persian Garden, finally published and in print! You know how hard I worked to find a publisher for my newest piece. (1) Your support of me has meant the world- you always supported the risks I have taken in composing new pieces! To show how much your support means to me, I dedicated In a Persian Garden to you. (2) I made sure that the dedication was the first thing on the first page of the score. The first thing anyone will read is “To My Husband”.  Your support of my transition from singing to composing has kept me motivated throughout this journey. (3)

I know how much you enjoy The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyàm, and I never would have written this piece if you had not introduced it to me through a gift book when we were courting. I even included your favorite stanza from the collection:

I sent my Soul through the Invisible

Some secret of that after-life to spell,

And bye-and-bye my Soul returned to me

And answer’d: I myself am Heav’n and Hell. (a)

I tried to ask the publishers if you could be allowed to illustrate the cover of my score, but they insisted that an illustrator they have working for them make the cover, a man by the name of Edward B. Edwards. If I hadn’t had such a difficult time finding a publisher in the first place, I would have pushed harder for you to be the illustrator because I know illustrating is something that brings you joy, and you are very talented besides. (4)

I hope that this success for our family helps motivate you in your own compositions. You know how I love your unaccompanied songs, and I believe that someday the rest of the world will too. (5) Although In a Persian Garden is accompanied and unique in my own way, I cannot help but notice how your musical mind has been intertwined with mine in this piece.

I will see you soon, my dear! I hope you cherish this piece as much as I do. And remember- Waste not your hour! (b)

Your loving wife,

Liza

1. Lehmann struggled to publish In a Persian Garden because of its unique structure.
2. In a Persian Garden is dedicated “To My Husband”, as seen on the first page of the score.
3. Lehmann married Bedford shortly after she retired from a life of professional singing and began composing.
4. Herbert Bedford often illustrated the cover of Lehmann’s works.
5. Bedford was a well-known composer in his own right, championing unaccompanied song, or a cappella song.
6. Soprano Solo from In a Persian Garden. Stanza LXVI from Fitzgerald’s Fifth Edition.
7. Contralto Solo from In a Persian Garden. Stanza LIV from Fitzgerald’s Fifth Edition.

"MAN OF PARTS: HERBERT BEDFORD by Philip Scowcroft". www.musicweb-international.com.

Bedford, Herbert (24 May 1923). "An Essay on Modern Unaccompanied Song". H. Milford, Oxford University Press – via Google Books.