camps; and between them there was no question of the superiority of Italian opera: that was contested by neither; the only point at issue was whether certain reforms should or should not be introduced into opera. "The school of Hasse and Metastasio," says Burney, "regarded all innovation as charlatanry and remained attached to the old form of musical drama, in which the poet and the musician demanded equal attention on the part of the spectators—the poet in the recitative and narrative and the composer in the airs, duets and choruses.—The school of Gluck and Calsabigi devoted themselves rather to scenic effects, to the propriety of the characters, to simplicity of diction and musical execution, rather than to what they called flowery descriptions, superfluous comparisons, a cold and sententious morality, with tedious symphonies and long musical developments."—Here we have the whole difference; at bottom it is a question of age, not of race or style. Hasse and Metastasio were old; they complained that there had been no good music written since the days of their youth. But
gratitude for one of his comic operas; the prince had been delighted to learn that the music was that "of an honest German who loved a good old wine." He boasted freely of his fashion of leading an orchestra, "in which he was as formidable as Händel. He said that he had never known any to rebel, although he forced the musicians to give up all other occupations for the opera, and often made them rehearse parts of his operas twenty or thirty times." He spoke to Burney of his stay in England, "to which he attributed entirely the study which he had made of nature for his dramatic compositions." He was there at the time of Händel's glory; there had been no room for him, and the people were greatly incensed against foreigners. It was only with difficulty that Gluck's Caduta de' Giganti had been performed; and it had been a failure. Gluck had been struck by the fact "that naturalness and simplicity acted most strongly upon the spectators, and since then he had endeavoured never to depart from them. It may be remarked"—says Burney—"that the majority of the airs in Orfeo are as simple and natural as English ballads."
