[+] Roberts, John H. "The 'Sweet Song' in Demofoonte: A Gluck Borrowing from Handel." In Opera and the Enlightenment, ed. Thomas Bauman and Marita Petzoldt McClymonds, 168-88. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
The pastiche opera Demofoonte is attributed to Niccolò Jommelli in contemporary London reviews, but it contains music by many other composers, including many Gluck arias. Eighteenth-century reviews of the work also noted the similarity of the aria "Ogni amante," thought to be from a lost opera by Gluck, to a certain Handel minuet. Although the Gluck aria was also used in self-borrowing in his opera La Clemenza di Tito, it is the Issipile version that is used in Demofoonte and compared to Handel. Through thorough analysis current audiences can better understand the observations of the work's first audiences. Gluck also borrowed from Handel's Alessandro for his opera La Fausse Esclave. The differences between Handel opera excerpts and Gluck's aria showcase the composers' different strengths and weaknesses.
Works: Niccolò Jommelli: Demofoonte (168-69); Gluck: "Se all'impero" from La Clemenza di Tito (169, 178-80), "Ogni amante" from Issipile (171-80), "Tendre Agathe" from La Fausse Esclave (180, 183-87).
Sources: Handel: Arianna in Creta (168-70), "Il cor mio" from Alessandro (180-83, 185); Niccolò Jommelli: "Padre sposa" from Cajo Mario (169); Johann Adolf Hasse "Or che salvo" from Arminio (169); Gluck: "Padre perdona" from Demofoonte (169-70), "Ogni amante" from Issipile (169-71, 178-80).
Index Classifications: 1700s
Contributed by: Danielle Nelson
