Note 124 — HIS LIFE
A. Eaglefield (Arthur Eaglefield) Hull translation
Even in 1734 Séré de Rieux wrote of Handel: “His composition, infinitely clever and gracious, seems to approach nearer to our taste than any other in Europe” (p. 29 of Enfants de Latone, poems dedicated to the King). Handel particularly pleased the French because his Italianism was always restrained by reason, and French musicians loved to think that logic was totally French.
“Son caractère fort, nouveau, brillant, égal, Du sens judicieux suit la constante trace, Et ne s’arme jamais d’une insolente audace.” Ibid. (pp. 102-3.)