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Early Music 2005 33(4):575-590; doi:10.1093/em/cah150
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Early Music, Vol. XXXIII, No.4 © The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

Handel and the confus'd shepherdess: a case study of stylistic eclecticism

Graham Cummings

Graham Cummings is Principal Lecturer in the Department of Music, University of Huddersfield. He has published on Handel and opera in Music & letters and the Handel Jahrbuch. He is currently editing Poro, Rè dell'Indie for the Hallische Handel Ausgabe. g.h.cummings{at}hud.ac.uk

The aria ‘Son confusa pastorella’ was possibly the most popular number from Handel's operatic success of 1731, Poro, Rè dell'Indie, whose libretto was an altered version of Alessandro nell'Indie by the distinguished Italian poet, Metastasio. Through the text of this aria the poet presents the perhaps confusing image of an Indian princess ‘playing at pastoral’. To convey this complex picture to his London audience, Handel composed a beguiling set-piece with strong French connections, through his use of the musette and allusions to the fêtes galantes, combined with borrowings from Telemann. Handel's multi-layered response will be examined and contrasted with that of Metastasio's chosen composer, Leonardo Vinci.

Key Words: Handel • opera • pastoral • Telemann • Leonardo Vinci • Metastasio • pastoral


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