Giuseppe Tartini - Lettere e documenti / Pisma in dokumenti / Letters and Documents - Volume / Knjiga / Volume II

447 LETTERS part of her husband that she will never be put on show in the commercial theatre. In this there is no obstacle, as the young lady plays, she does not sing; but the obstacle lies in the tenor, who cannot grant any security with regard to his status other than his art as a singer; and this is not enough to comply with the laws of the holy institution. It would be entirely sufficient for the said man to be settled in the service of some court; in that case the holy institution would give him the young lady as his wife with no questions asked. That being the case, the solution suggested is to guarantee the tenor Giuseppe Scoti a place in the service of Her Royal Electoral Highness with a certificate, which can be shown to the holy institution, in which the young Maddalena Lombardini should never be mentioned, nor should there be the slightest mention of marriage. This certificate (once he has extracted the young lady and married her) will be of no use to the musician, and of this Her Royal Electoral Highness must be previously assured in the manner which she commands; by changing the name of the husband into that of the wife using another certificate, it will be of use only to her, as this procedure has no other purpose than that of extracting the aforementioned young lady from the holy institution. This does not warrant, nor ever shall warrant, the application for a yearly retribution; and it is sincerely declared that if Her Royal Electoral Highness assigns her what is necessary to her to live honestly with her husband, she is more than content, and she will never seek more than that. If Her Royal Electoral Highness then finds that the husband is or may become a singer deserving of actual service (he is young, he does not wish to sing in commercial theatres, he is willing to study, he has voice and ability) then she shall provide for it according to her judgement and pleasure. This is the state of the matter, in which Her Royal Electoral Highness risks nothing with the certificate and with the assignment made in Scoti’s name, because after the goal has been achieved the certificate returns to the Sovereign and a new certificate is created for Lombardini; and in this way is ensured the service of this young woman, of excellent and saintly manners, and of such singularity on the violin as both you and Signor Ferrandini 101 can assure Her Royal Electoral Highness. Since both of you have listened to her, you know that Her Highness will increasingly discover that among the many illustrious students I have had, both you and Signor Ferrandini know that you can assure the Sovereign Patroness that with regard to music played on the violin that strikes the heart, there is absolutely no equal in the present time. If therefore Her Royal Electoral Highness kindly consents to the here suggested solution, it should be good for Scoti’s certificate to be made promptly and addressed either to Signor Ferrandini or to me, as you shall no longer be in Venice; while sending it to Naples means wasting too much time. This is a matter of no little importance, since that Polish man of religion whom I had at my school has left with the intention of proposing this same young girl to his King of Poland; and you know that the Prince of Brunswich also has an eye on the same lady. The poor lady, who is so 101 The composer Giovanni Battista Ferrandini (1710-1791) had moved to Padua in 1755. See R. Münster, “Ferrandini, Giovanni Battista”, in Ng, vol. 8.