FREDERICK LOEWE. Vienna-born American songwriter.
Autograph Musical Manuscript of one of his most famous songs from Camelot, “Then you may take me to the Fair,” two pages, large quarto, [1959]. With the title page bearing the notation, “Guenevere, men”.
THE ONLY KNOWN MANUSCRIPT, RETAINED BY LOEWE HIMSELF, OF THIS FAMOUS AND POPULAR SONG FROM CAMELOT.
Frederick Loewe writes twenty-four lines of music to the song, “Then you may take me to the Fair.” It is the early draft of the melody from his personal archive, written during the creation of this remarkable classic musical.
Camelot, based on the Arthurian legend and T. H. White’s The Once and Future King, opened on Broadway in New York on December 3, 1960 and had a run of 873 performances over two years. Production was staged by Moss Hart, with Richard Burton, Julie Andrews, and Robert Goulet in the leading roles (Arthur, Guenevere, and Lancelot). Written in collaboration with Alan Jay Lerner, the musical symbolized to many Americans an ideal society during the presidency of John F. Kennedy. In fact, its admirers included President and Mrs. Kennedy, whose White House circle was often likened to Camelot. It is not an exaggeration to say that Lerner and Frederick Loewe perfected the musical-theater art form in America, and produced some of the best-loved musicals of the twentieth century. The two met by chance in 1942 and began their remarkable collaboration, which “after several unsuccessful attempts created musicals that have been performed throughout the world, revived and filmed” [The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians]. A film version of Camelot was released in 1967.
Price: $22,500
This item is associated with the following category in our inventory:
- Musicians / Composers