Posted by Stephen Walsh on July 29, 19102 at 06:51:50:

In Reply to: THE GREATEST posted by brad on July 06, 19102 at 22:10:18:

I guess most pionate Purcellians (of whom I consider myself one) are also equally pionate Handelians, for one reason or another. Their music is so different...yet it is so similar. Purcell strived to serve the common man as well as the nobility in his operas, and his 'common touch' adds to the atmospheric splendour of his stage works. (Just look at the Queen, for instance. Not only is Purcell arguably the greatest and most expressive setter of words, he also had a magnificent 'feel' for the stage). Handel, writing Italian opera which was more florid, virtuosic and dramatic, also met this same goal in his works (despite the endeavour ultimately failing). He also had a lifelong debt to Purcell, whom he admired, for learning from his works how to write dramatic choral works, for which Handel is now most reverently remembered. Finally, both composers share a common spirit, something distinctly "English", something very unique and splendid that appeals both to the immediate senses and to the soul, something which is sadly often overlooked by many a musician today.

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