It would too, have
necessitated shelving the Symphony indefinitely, and, although he needed
the money which the opera would have yielded, his interest in the
Symphony was paramount; he could not bring himself to abandon it. With
failing powers superinduced by his excessive labors on the Mass, it was
being borne in on him that he was nearing the end of his life-work.
Under such circumstances the Symphony was sure to have the preference.
The long cherished plans for another oratorio, and for a Requiem Mass
also insistently came up for consideration, crowding out all serious
intention of an opera.
The project of a Requiem Mass was of particular interest to him; it
comes to the fore frequently. He mentioned it shortly after the
completion of the Mass in C. Then, when his brother Karl died it is
again considered. It is also mentioned on the occasion of the tragic
death of Prince Kinsky, who had acted so liberally by him in the matter
of the pension. It is probable that the work of writing a Requiem Mass
would have proved congenial to him.
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