Dryden's Relation to Germany 69 



such as Handel's Alexander's Feast and his Messiah, and the 

 compositions of Gluck^^ and Mozart.^" The latter rescored Alex- 

 ander's Feast in 1790. 



Undoubtedly the translation of favorable English criticism of 

 Alexander's Feast also greatly aided the reception accorded Dry- 

 den's odes, and hastened their translation in Germany. Most of 

 this criticism was incidental in connection with Pope, whose popu- 

 larity was then at its greatest height in Germany. These transla- 

 tions and reviews of them were made by Drollinger, Gottsched, 

 the Britischen Bihliothek, Mendelssohn, and Nicolai. Drol- 

 linger's translation of the Essay on Criticism, containing the eulogy 

 of Alexander's Feast, was published by Bodmer in 1741.^^ Pope 

 regarded the ode as an illustration of real poetry, which stirs and 

 moves us. In the words of Drollinger's translation: " Hore die 

 veranderlichen Thone des Thimotheus, wie sie uns riihren, wie 

 sie den Begierden gebieten, wechselweise zu steigen und zu fallen. 

 Man schauet den Sohn des Lybischen Jupiters nach jeder Tonver- 

 anderung bald brennend von Ruhmbegierde, bald weich von Liebe. 

 Aus seinem wilden Blicken funkeln jztWuth und Rasen, und jzt 

 bricht er in Seufzer aus, und zerschmelzt in Thranen. Perser und 

 Griechen finden gleiche Regungen bey sich, und den Weltbe- 

 z winger bezwingen die Thone. Noch jzo miissen alle Herzen die 

 Macht der Musik bekennen, und was einst ein Thimotheus war, 

 ist jzt ein Dryden."^^ Apparently Drollinger was inspired by 

 this criticism to also write a Saint Cecelia ode, for which he chose 

 the same title used by Pope, Auf die Musik, and at least the open- 

 ing lines show similarity : 



" Auf, riihret euch ihr muntern Saeten, 

 Und flammet meine Geister an, 



^^ Gluck also planned a composition of Alexander's Feast. See Otto 

 Jahn's Gesammeltc Aufsdtcc iibcr Musik, p. 227. Leipzig, 1867. 



20 Dictionary of Music and Musicians, p. 52, New York, 1890. 



21 Critische Schriften, I, pp. 49-84. It is reedited with notes by Johann 

 Jakob Sprang in Herrn Carl Drollingers Gcdichte, samt ander darju ge- 

 horigen StUcken. Franckfurt am Main, 1745. Drollinger made the trans- 

 lation at least two years before it was first published. See letter to Gott- 

 sched, dated March 12, 1739, in Gedichte, p. 327. 



22 Loco citato, I, p. 69. 



357 



