of his face. Instead he watched the player’s hands and saw how
fluently his supple, powerful fingers moved over the keys. Vivaldi
was impressed; for a German, this man played in a very Italian way.
It was not perfect, of course, but he certainly had individuality of
style. And Il Sassone had no trouble holding the attention of his
audience; only rarely could someone be heard whispering excitedly
in another’s ear. Antonio found himself wondering if this young
man had equal mastery over the violin. He looked once more at the
king and found him completely absorbed in the music. The priest’s
mood was sinking by the moment. Would he still get a chance to
play this evening? Would Frederik IV and the nobility present still
be sober enough to appreciate his music if he did? He knew from
experience that it no longer mattered what was played later in the
evening; people would enjoy anything. You could get a monkey to
tinker on the harpsichord and they would still applaud to high
heaven and swear through their tears they had never heard
anything so beautiful in their whole lives before. And the next day
they’d have forgotten it entirely.
Vivaldi gave the whole evening up as a bad job and took his
first glass of wine from a passing waiter. Without tasting the
contents he emptied the glass and took another. The room was
filled with applause and ‘bravos’ and Il Sassone bowed extravagantly
to his grateful public. Vivaldi clapped rather coolly but managed
nevertheless to shout ‘bravo’. As far as he was concerned, Haendel
was simply an intruder who had managed to commandeer all
Frederik IV’s attention. Antonio’s envy was further awakened when
he saw how the German and the king stood chatting, almost
informally, like two old friends! They must both speak German.
Good grief, is this what they had come to Venice for? The sovereign
slapped the musician good-naturedly on the shoulder and appeared
to ask for more. Il Sassone tried politely to wave aside the request,
but who can refuse a king? With a huge smile spread across his
blushing features, Haendel resumed his seat at the harpsichord.
For a moment he seemed to be considering, and then he
turned to the audience, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, especially for
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