Reinhard Keiser's opera Die römische Unruhe, oder Die edelmüthige Octavia (1705) has long been recognized as a source of material for Handel in the first decade of the eighteenth century. However, further study reveals that music from Keiser's opera was used by Handel in various compositions for some fifty years, from Aminta e Fillide (1708) to The Triumph of Time and Truth (1758). These examples reflect Handel's typical borrowing procedure: a characteristic motive or phrase is appropriated and subjected to elaboration and development, sometimes in a vastly different context, which far surpasses the original parameters of the model. As such Handel repaid his debt to Keiser throughout his life.

Works: Handel: Ariodante (74-75), Orlando (75-76), Aminta e Fillide (76-77), Agrippina (76-78), Rodelinda (78), Berenice (79), Solomon (79), The Triumph of Time and Truth (79-80).

Index Classifications: 1700s

Contributed by: Alexander J. Fisher