207 
HANDEL. 
tirely removed thefe difordefs, and he returned to Lon- 
don in perfect health in 1736. The town was now to be 
treated with an union of Dryden’s poetry and Handel’s 
mulic, in the performance of “Alexander’s Feaft,” which 
had mod deferved fuccefs. He continued to compofe 
operas; and a concert for his benefit, in 1738, produced 
him the clear fum of 800I. About this time an uncom¬ 
mon, tribute of refpeft was paid to him by Mr. Tyers, 
proprietor of Vauxhall,-who placed a marble fiatue of 
him, by Roubiliac, in the gardens. The fuccefs of his 
oratorios was as yet but partial, owing to the want of a 
fublimer tafte ; and even his “ Mefiiah,” faid to have 
been firfl performed in 1741, at Covent-garden, was but 
coldly received. This circumftance, and the diforder 
of his affairs, induced him in that year to try his fortune 
in the metropolis of Ireland. Pope, who though void 
of tafte for raufic, might yet have been excited to feel¬ 
ing by Handel’s ftrains, mentions his retreat to Ireland 
in the following lines of his addrefs to Dulnefs : 
Strong in nevf arms, lo ! giant Handel' ftands, 
Like bold Briareus with a hundred hands : 
To ftir, to rouze, to fhake the foul he gomes, 
And Jove’s own thunders follow Mars’s drums. 
Arreft him, emprefs, or you fleep no more ! — 
She heard, and drove him to th’ Hibernian fliore. 
Dunciad, iv. 65. 
He was honourably received in Dublin, where he ju- 
dicioufly commenced with performing his Mefliah for 
the benefit of the city-prifon; a charity greatly praifed, 
but much more fenfibly felt. After an abfence of nine 
months, he returned to London, and entertained the 
town with an oratorio from Samfon Agoniftes. He con¬ 
tinued, notwithftanding fome oppofition, to gain in the 
public efteem, and had the iatisfadlion of feeing his 
Mefiiah eftablifhed as the fublimeft effort of mufical 
genius. The ftores of his invention appeared inexhaufti- 
ble; for year after year new compofitions of the oratorio 
kind were produced, in which tlie lublime of mulic was 
prefented under every poflible variety. At length, in- 
1751/ his eyes began to be aflefted with a gutta ferena, 
which funk his fpirits to a ftate of the deepeft delpond- 
ence, and terminated at length in total blindnefs. When 
the event was decided, his mind feems to have recovered 
its tone, and he continued to affilt in the performance of 
his oratorios, only ceafiiig to accompany theni with his 
harpfichord. His extempore voluntaries on the organ 
were ftill admirable, and his hand retained all its powers 
of execution. The fenfe of religion, which he had im¬ 
bibed when young, returned fenfibly upon him in the 
concluding years of his life; and he feemed to feel 
ftrongly thole devotional fentiments which he had fo 
much contributed to excite in others. He was prefent 
at the performance of one of his oratorios only eight 
days before his death, which happened on April 14, 
1759. He was intefred in Weftminfter-abbey, where, by 
his own order, and at liis own expence, a fine monument 
lias been erected to his memory. He lived-in celibacy, 
and left a confiderable fortune to liis relatiohs. 
Handel’s early and afliduous application to his profef- 
fion, did not permit him to acquire much literary im¬ 
provement. He fpoke leveral modern languages ungra- 
inatically, and blended them all 1110ft Angularly in his 
coriverfarion. But of his mufical powers, it is lcarcely 
pollible to fpeak too highly, fince the-copioulnefs and 
facility of his invention, and the grandeur and beauty 
of his conceptions, were perhaps never-exceeded. Of 
the merit Of his compofitions, the belt eulogium is tTie 
long.duration of their fame ; for to the prefent day every 
lover of niufic is anxious to hear them performed, or to 
know them by rote, in order to appreciate their excel¬ 
lence. Of the rapidity of his genius, a molt lingular and 
aftoniftiing proof was given in the production of his “Ri, 
lialdo,“ which was originally fuggelted, completed, and 
performed, in the Ihort compafs of a fortnight, And it 
may further be obferved, that between the year 1711, 
when Rinaldo was firft performed, and 1740, when he 
quitted the direction of the orcheftra, Handel compofed 
no lefs thanthirty-nine operas. Of thefe, fome have never 
been printed ; thofe which are in print, are, more or lefs, 
mutilated and defective. Even of thefe, complete col¬ 
lections are in very few han,ds; and to many perfons 
well qualified to receive pleafure from them, the opera 
fongs of Handel are almolt totally unknown. It feems, 
however, that no adequate idea can be formed of the 
merit of this great mailer as a compofer of fongs, by 
thofd who judge of it from his oratorios only ; and we 
do not hefitate to fay, that the greateft admirers of Han¬ 
del, if they are unacquainted with this part of his works, 
would rife from the perufal of them with ftill higher 
conceptions of his genius, and of the extent and fertility 
of his refources. As a fpecimen of the high character 
of the ftyle of his opera fongs, we fhall give the defcrip- 
tion in the words of his able and judicious biographer 
Dr. Burney. 
“ The firft movement of Handel’s overture of Rinaldo, 
is grand and majeftic. The introductory air Sovra baize 
fcofcefe, fung by fignora Bofchi, abounds with many grace¬ 
ful and pleafing paftages. The next air, fung by Ifabella 
Girardeau, is fpirited, ingenioufly accompanied, and- 
new- The firft air which Bofchi fings is.a rough defi¬ 
ance, fit for a pagan and a bafe voice.* The next air, 
fung by his wife, is fpirited and pleafing. Then follows 
an air, Vieni 0 cara, which is very charaCteriftic, and, 
though a jig, and for a bafe voice, not vulgar. Furze ter- 
ribile, an air for Armida, is full of genius and fire, and 
truly dramatic. Augeletti che cantate, is charming ; there 
is a foothing paflage in it which lie afterwards ufed in 
“ Return O God ofhofts.” The duet, Scherzanafal tuo 
volto, has in it many pretty paftages, though the plan is 
not dramatic, nor is it fo good on the old plan as many 
duets he afterwards compofed. Carafpofa is one of the 
belt airs in that ftyle that was ever compofed by himfelf 
or any other mailer; and by many degrees the molt pa¬ 
thetic fong, and with the richeft accompaniment, which 
had been then heard in England. The laft air in the 
firft aft, Venti turbini, is a capital bravura, calculated 
to difplay Nicolini’s powers of execution and afting. 
“ The firft air in the fecond aft, Siam projfimi, is plea¬ 
fing', in the favourite ftyle of Carifiimi, abpiit the mid¬ 
dle of the laft century. The Siren’s fong is an agreeable 
Siciliana in Handel’s own favourite ftyle. II tricerbero 
humiliata, a paflionate air for Nicolini, in which all the 
parts play in unifon and oftaves to the voice, on account 
of its boldnefs and feeming joviality, had Knglifti Bac¬ 
chanalian words fet to it, “ Let the waiter bring clean 
glades,’’ to which it was long fung at merry and con¬ 
vivial meetings all over the kingdom. Scorta rea, is an 
agreeable air in two parts, fugato. Mio cor, another fpi¬ 
rited air, with no other accompaniment than a bafe, but 
it is ( an admirable fong. Bajla cke/ol tu c/iieda, is an excel¬ 
lent bafe fong of an original call and accompaniment. Fer- 
mati, a duet of infinite genius, fpirit, and originality,-"ini- r 
much that modern duets are all call in the lame mould. 
Ah crudell the whole opening and conduft of this admi¬ 
rable adagio may be found in the author’s hautbois con¬ 
certos. Vo far guerra, with an accompaniment for the 
harpfichord which terminates the fecond aft, and which 
Handel played himfelf during the run of the opera, 
muft have captivated the audience by the lightnefs and 
elafticity of his finger; as it contains no one learned or 
folid paflage. However, he afterwards drew'from the 
brilliant parts paftages for his harpfichord lefl'ons and 
organ concertos. 
“ The fecond air in the third aft, Sorge nelpetto, is a 
foothing and pathetic moriel. The next, E uu incendio, 
is fpirited and pleafing. The violin part reminds us of 
the accompaniment to a movement in the coronation 
anthem. Al trionfo, a duo, which is good niufic ; But 
the paftages all occur inlubfequent compofitions by our 
author^ 
