Handel's Borrowings Flashcards
What was Handel’s nickname?
‘The grand old robber’
How did Handel plagiarise from Carissimi?
Borrowed the whole harmonic structure from ‘Plorate Fili Israel’ from ‘Jephta’ and used it in ‘Hear Jacob’s God’ from ‘Samson’
How can Handel’s plagiarism of Carissimi be excused?
Carissimi did much to develop the oratorio in its early days, but Handel built on these foundations and improved them
Wasn’t just lifting them, he was making them his own and into something better
e.g. Carissimi often employed an antiphonal effect between two sides of a chorus - Handel did this with two full choruses
Handel would incorporate double and even triple fugues into his oratorios
What is Handel’s most notorious plagiarism?
Lifting an entire organ canzona from J. K. Kerl and putting it into ‘Israel In Egypt’
Did Handel successfully pass off Kerl’s organ canzona as his own in ‘Israel in Egypt’?
No
Percy Robinson (1939) says that the canzona stands out from the rest of Handel’s choruses as “strangely lacking his usual skill in development”
Henry Davey (1927) claims a “melodious solo” in its place “would have improved the oratorio”
What is the holy trinity of Handel’s plagiarisms?
Te Deum by Urio
Magnificat by Erba
Serenata by Stradella
How does Percy Robinson claim that Handel did NOT steal from the holy trinity?
Urio and Erba are also names of villages on Lake Como, which Handel may plausibly have visited during his time in Italy in 1707-10
Stradella’s alleged serenata shares no similarity to Stradella’s confirmed works and refereces Handel’s earlier works such as his first Passion
How did Handel’s plagiarism affect the way he was viewed by musicologists?
Came to light in mid-19th century - decreased the value of Handel’s works
Under what grounds would Handel’s plagiarism be acceptable?
If its intention was to pay a compliment to another composer e.g. by mimicking Purcell’s style in his Utrecht Te Deum
If it was a direct reference to another composer and Handel was not trying to pass it off as his own work
How did Handel plagiarise Graun?
Borrowed Graun’s chorus ‘Ere To Dust’ for his ‘Wedding Anthem’ for the wedding of Prince Frederick
Why is Handel’s plagiarism of Graun acceptible?
It is very likely that he intended it as a reference as Graun is rumoured to have taught composition to Prince Frederick.
It would have been illogical for Handel to try and pass off Graun’s work as his own in any case, owing to the fact that the royal court had only recently visited Hanover (near when Graun lived) and hence would have been familiar with his music.
Why is some of Handel’s plagiarism inexcusable?
He often lifted material off of works by lesser-known Italian composers, whose works wouldn’t have been known in 18th-century England, Handel probably only obtaining copies of the manuscripts himself through musical contacts of his.
Therefore, it is impossible that some of his plagiarisms were intended as deliberate references, as their audience would have had no idea where they came from in the first place.
