because he was living in a Teutonic country where his Italian tongue possessed its full power only when the charm of music made it penetrate the alien mind. He wrote in 1760 to Count Florio: "From the earliest years of my transplantation into this country I have been convinced that our poetry can take root here only in so far as music and acting are combined with it."
Thus his poetry was written for music and theatrical representation. We may imagine how it must have charmed all the Italian and Italianate musicians of the century. According to Marmontel, "all the musicians had surrendered to him."[1] To begin with, they were delighted by the music of his verse. Then they found in him a very pleasant, polite,[2] but quite inflexible guide. Hasse constituted himself his pupil. Jommelli used to say that he had learned more from Metastasio than from Durante, Leo, Feo and Father Martini—that is, from all his masters. Not only did his verses, in which he would allow no alteration, lend themselves marvellously to melody, inspiring and even evoking it, so to speak: they very often suggested the motive of the air to the composer.[3]
- ↑ Signor Francesco Piovano, who is preparing a bibliography of Metastasio, estimates that as many as 1,200 compositions were written for the poet's verses.
- ↑ Burney has drawn a delightful portrait of Metastasio, whom he saw in Vienna. His conversation is described as lucid, fluent and vivacious. He was gay and agreeable, full of charm and had extremely good manners. He never disagreed with anybody, partly out of indolence and partly out of politeness. He never replied to an erroneous statement. He did not care for discussion. "He displayed the same tranquillity, the same gentle harmony that we find in his writings, in which reason controls everything; never frenzy, even in the passions."
- ↑ Burney records a conversation between Metastasio and an English visitor. The Englishman asked whether Metastasio had ever set one of his operas to music. Metastasio replied that he had not, but that he had often given the composer the motives of his melodies.
