Michael Cooper wrote:

>Not to nitpick, but Handel's music certainly displayed a high level of
>eclecticism for its day, incorporating French, Italian, and German style
>and technique.  And what about Lully, where would you put him?

We could probably have lengthy discussions as to what constitutes
significant eclecticism in a musical work, and many responses would be
very different.  I agree with Michael concerning the above styles that
Handel utilized, but I don't consider those differences significant enough
to use the term eclectic regarding Handel's music; I think of Handel as
thoroughly being a 'high baroque' composer.  Michael used the phrase "a
high level of eclecticism for its day".  That is significant in that I
think the potential levels of eclecticism in music are much greater in
the 20th century and now.

Concerning Lully, I am not particularly fond of his music nor familiar
enough with it to render any opinion on its degree of eclecticism.

Don Satz
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