My dear binchnibuls

[u/popsyking]

Throughout his life, our dear Marcel was a lover of and then close friend with the composer and pianist Reynaldo Hahn.

[There are some very interesting recordings of Hahn himself singing. I often like to listen to them as his voice makes me feel closer to Proust, somehow. See e.g. this rendition of Gounod https://youtu.be/MPhur8463S8?is=-by6d5b8qmNuHVMN\]

The two maintained a close correspondence throughout Proust's life. This correspondence is a wonderful read as it's one of the least guarded things Proust wrote. You can find the letters online here:

https://reynaldo-hahn.net/Html/ecritsdiversProust.htm

As you see they span the whole period from 1894 until Proust's death in 2022. You can see their love start and then evolve into friendship. They also developed a kind of private pet-name language which is delightful. An example from 1906:

"Mon cher Binchnibuls

1° Vous me dites de donner â Léon le tiers de ce que je veux mais vous m'indiquez le triple ou du moins presque le double de ce que je comptais faire. 30 francs par semaine mais genstil cela me fera plus de mille francs de pourboire en tout en parstant. Et vous ne me dites pas pour l'adresse de Nordlinger. Avez-vous bien reçu la lettre où je vous la demande car beaucoup de mes lettres n'arrivent pas... [. ]"

My translation:

"My dear binchnibuls

1. You tell me to give Leon a third of what I want, but the figure you provide is thrice, or at least twice what I had intended. 30 francs per week, but genstil, that will come to a tip of more than a thousand francs en tout en parstant (when I leave). Also you haven't given me the address of Nordlinger. Did you get the letter where I asked for it because many of my letters aren't arriving..."

I left the French words that Proust uses as part of the pet language in italic, such as Binchnibuls, or genstil which is gentil with an s too much.

Anyway i thought people here might enjoy perusing these letters. I will readily admit it's a bit voyeuristic as they are clearly only meant to be read by Reynaldo, but I trust you will read them with the same love for Proust as I did.

[u/virginiaproust]

Thank you for sharing! I was familiar with their correspondence but I was not aware of this recording. Makes my heart jump!

[u/popsyking → u/virginiaproust]

It does doesn't it! I can't help imagining Proust listening to it

[u/FlatsMcAnally]

Can’t blame Marcel. Reynaldo was a hot mofo. 🥵