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

430 nature offers us in its essential simplicity. I have observed that in your objections not only do you not want to admit phenomena, but you actually try to destroy them, by mixing them up with each other. What I observe here in the exposition is that you want nothing to depend on the true sense at of ancient and modern music. I leave Your Nobleness to infer the consequence, as I do not want to infer it myself in any way, and meanwhile submitting to you my most reverent regards, I remain Your Nobility’s most humble, devoted and obliged servant Giuseppe Tartini Padua, 16 April 1760 142. Tartini to the Count of Ekeblad I have delayed my reply to Your Excellency’s kindest letter so that I can deliver it into the very hands of Signor Westrom, who is returning there. I do not how to express sufficiently the greatness of my obligations towards Your Excellency, who with such kindness and courtesy has replied to me, believed me, and acted. These shall always live with me together with my gratitude, although I have no hope of showing it with deeds, as there is too much distance, not in place, but in person, between Your Excellency and myself. May then Your Excellency receive from such a debtor as I am, not what one should give, but what one can give, and I in my most humble and most constant servitude shall give you all of myself up until my death. As regards the work done by Signor Westrom and myself, both he and I have done our duty, and this, which is our consolation, shall be even more so Your Excellency’s, for you will personally see that you have bestowed your benevolence on one who has not made ill use of it, and has in fact had the resolute will to employ it excellently and dutifully, at the cost of arduous toil. I must inform Your Excellency, in advance and most necessarily, of one thing, and that is that Signor Westrom greatly suffers from the fear of audiences, so on the first occasions when he is heard there it is extremely unlikely that he will be recognised for what he is and for how much he knows; and he shall only be truly known once he has overcome the initial impact of his natural embarrassment. This is a natural inconvenience which neither he nor I can remedy, but only through practice and the frequency of his being exposed to the public. So it shall happen that wherever his position takes him, he must find himself frequently exposed to audiences, but after a few days he will be free enough to perform as he is, and one will then be able to ascertain the point he has reached with his assiduity and toil. Furthermore, Signor Westrom declares himself much obliged to the Most