While in London on this visit Spohr composed his B flat Symphony, which was given by the Philharmonic Society under the direction of the composer himself, and, as he tells us in his “Autobiography,” it was played better than he ever heard it afterward.  His English reception, on the whole, was a very cordial one, and he secured a very high place in public estimation, both as a violinist and orchestral composer.  On returning to Germany, Spohr gave a series of concerts, during which time he produced his great D minor violin concerto, making a great sensation with it.  He had not yet visited Paris in a professional way, and in the winter of 1821 he turned his steps thitherward, in answer to a pressing invitation from the musicians of that great capital.  On January 20th he made his debut before a French audience, and gave a programme mostly of his own compositions.  Spohr asserts that the satisfaction of the audience was enthusiastically expressed, but the fact that he did not repeat the entertainment would suggest a suspicion that the impression he made was not fully to his liking.  It may be he did not dare take the risk in a city so full of musical attractions of every description.  Certainly he did not like the French, though his reception from the artists and literati was of the most friendly sort.  He was disgusted “with the ridiculous vanity of the Parisians.”  He writes:  “When one or other of their musicians plays anything, they say, ’Well! can you boast of that in Germany?’ Or when they introduce to you one of their distinguished artists, they do not call him the first in Paris, but at once the first in the world, although no nation knows less what other countries possess than they do, in their—­for their vanity’s sake most fortunate—­ignorance.”

Spohr’s appointment to the directorship of the court theatre at Cassel occurred in the winter of 1822, and he confesses his pleasure in the post, as he believed he could make its fine orchestra one of the most celebrated in Germany.  He remained in this position for about thirty years, and during that time Cassel became one of the greatest musical centers of the country.  His labors were assiduous, for he had the true tireless German industry, and he soon gave the world his opera of “Jessonda,” which was first produced on July 28, 1823, with marked success.  “Jessonda” has always kept its hold on the German stage, though it was not received with much favor elsewhere.  Another opera, “Der Berg Geist” ("The Mountain Spirit"), quickly followed, the work having been written to celebrate the marriage of the Princess of Hesse with the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen.  One of his most celebrated compositions, the oratorio “Die Letzten Dinge” ("The Last Judgment"), which is more familiar to English-speaking peoples than any other work of Spohr, was first performed on Good Friday, 1826, and was recognized from the first as a production of masterly excellence.  Spohr’s ability as a composer of sacred music would have been