Page:Anecdotes of Great Musicians.djvu/177

Rh With Handel it was natural that the music should hold first place in his affection. His ideas about the value of the poetry to which he set his music may be illustrated by the following incident:—

There was a certain Dr. Morrell who arranged many of Handel's librettos for him. This personage one day ventured to give Händel some advice as to what kind of music should be set to certain words. This at once aroused the choleric Händel.

"Vat," he exclaimed, "Vat! you deach me music? My music ish goot music. Damn your vorts! Here,"—sitting down to his instrument and playing through a melody,—"here are mine ideas; you go and make vorts to dem."

Yet in some of his greater compositions, his oratorios, Händel carefully chose his words from the Scriptures, and in many cases the musical settings are highly beautiful and in perfect accord with the sentiment of the Word.  

Grétry, the French opera composer, was a man of considerable wit and enjoyed a good joke. He was able to take a hand in a bit of fun when occasion offered. At one time, when going on a trip through Switzerland, he met with a German baron who proposed that they should travel together.

As soon as they had begun their journey, Grétry began a conversation with his lordship, saying, "Ah, sir, how enchanted I am with—,"

"Sir," interrupted the baron, "I never talk in a carriage."

"Very well," said Grétry, and subsided into quiet.

The baron had evidently considered that he had a garrulous traveling companion, and that it was best to shut him up in the beginning of the journey.

That night when they halted at an inn and had