III. could barely stand any other music, and the public were
almost, though not quite, of their royal master's way of thinking. Haydn
they admired vastly; but it was found advisable to mix up a good deal of
Handel's music with his on the programmes of the concerts at the King's
theatre. There were also Handel performances at Covent Garden. Such
effects as that of the throbbing mass of vocal tone in the chorus from
_Joshua_, "The people shall tremble," must have overwhelmed him, and the
swift directness and colossal climaxes of the "Hallelujah" from the
_Messiah_ certainly impressed him. However great the revelation of
Handel's supreme might, Haydn never imitated Handel's style or devices
for getting huge effects; the artistic treatment he received in London,
as well as the social treatment, the flattery and petting, left him
Haydn. That he learned much from Handel cannot be doubted, and it must
have been Handel's music that suggested to him the idea of composing
_The Creation_ and so much church music; but Haydn the artist remained
unchanged, like Haydn the man; he learnt and he profited, but he went on
doing things in his own way. Handel was one of the three most potent
influences who made him. The first was Emanuel Bach, who fertilized his
mind, sowed ideas; the second was Mozart, who shaped, coloured and
directed his thoughts; the last, Handel, turned his attention to
oratorio, sacred music and choral writing. Handel modified Haydn less
than the others; Haydn was then getting on towards old age; he was also
by force of sheer instinct above all things a writer for the orchestra;
and Handel's art, derived in the first place from Purcell's, had become
a purely personal one which no one since has copied with the slightest
success. Still it must have been good for Haydn to hear such a rolling
river of tone as the "Amen" of _The Messiah_, the springtide joyfulness
and jubilation of "And the glory of the Lord," the white heat of "And He
shall purify," and "For unto us a Child is born," with its recurring
climaxes of ever-increasing intensity. He frankly imitated none of these
things, but they must, consciously or unconsciously, have heightened the
nobility of the great choral fugues that relieve the triviality of so
much of his church music.

After what we should call the concert season was over, Haydn again went
off on a round of visits. Amongst others, there was one to Bath with Dr.
Burney. When music in London came to li