"Borrowed" Melodies

Cases of deliberate plagiarism in music are comparatively rare. One of the most conspicuous was that of Handel who thought nothing of stealing from his former works or those of a predecessor. As a rule, a master is so fecund that he does not have to descend to rascality to get his melodies. One of the large American publishers tells the tale of a popular composer who sent a set of the same pieces to six different publishers. The set was accepted by all and the composer pocketed the fees from all and skipped. One popular publisher admitted to the writer that his most successful members of his staff deliberately purloined themes from the masters when they wanted new ideas. Perhaps one of the worst cases of plagiarism known was that of Buononcini, the well known rival of Handel. This composer was very fertile with his melodies and had no reason to steal. He was, however, commissioned to write an anthem for the funeral of the Duke of Marlborough and deliberately stole an anthem by Lotti, writing his own name at the top of the copied manuscript. When this was discovered the excitement was so great that it led to Buononcini's downfall. He left for the continent and all track of him was lost. It was believed that he died in Venice about 1851; but no date is certain. Surely the way of the transgressor is hard.

The Etude Magazine March 1921