- matic force, vigorous harmonic structure, based on sound contrapuntal
experience, and a virile use of the orchestra, but as a rule they surrendered themselves to a facile copying of Italian melodious conventionality. In details the German style differed somewhat from the Italian, but in general spirit and method it tended to treat composition as a stereotyped trick which could be learned by any one once for all. Hence became common a lifeless, but outwardly correct, style which is often called that of the 'zopf' or 'perruque'—an official, perfunctory, mechanical style. This was not wholly bad or useless, since it favored the wide extension of many sorts of works in many places, but in historical perspective it seems tame and flat. Much that has already been noted really belongs to this monotonous class. Unfortunately, the tendency of the Hamburg circle was mainly toward making it universal in Germany. It was from this that Bach turned in discouragement, from which Handel vigorously broke away, and against which at length came a revolt in the second half of the century. Until that time there was little German opera of distinctive quality.
Brief reference, however, is due certain composers of renown, if not all of
much originality:—
Both Mattheson (d. 1764) and Telemann (d. 1767), already named as industrious church writers (sec. 120), wrote operas from about 1700, the former sparingly and with angularity, the latter freely and superficially. Of Mattheson's 8, the chief were Cleopatra (1704) and Henrico IV. (1711), and of Telemann's 40 or more, Damon (1724), Flavius Bertaridus (1729) and Genserich (1732). Telemann also wrote at least 600 overtures! His wide popularity led many lesser writers to imitate his style.
The relation of Keiser (d. 1739) to the Hamburg opera, his fertility and his power have already been noted (secs. 87, 120). From him the youthful Handel received in 1703-6 an impulse to dramatic work that bore immediate fruit (see sec. 129). In a limited sense, therefore, Handel belongs to the Hamburg group, though he had no later connection with it except as he gave one of his Passions there in 1716.
Christoph Graupner (d. 1760), almost exactly contemporary with Handel, had a similar connection with Hamburg. After training under Schelle and Kuhnau at Leipsic, in 1706-9 he was in Keiser's orchestra as cembalist, and then went to Darmstadt, where in 1712 he succeeded Briegel as choirmaster. In 1722 he was one of the aspirants for the cantorate of the Thomasschule at Leipsic, and would have been appointed before Bach came into the competition had not his Darmstadt patron objected. In 1750, like Handel, he became totally blind—the penalty of excessive application, partly to music-engraving. He was enormously prolific, especially in church music (1300 pieces left in
