On one
occasion the harpsichord-player failed him; Handel took his place at
short notice, and his musicianship was at once recognised. Unfortunately
Mattheson, whose chronology is always rather uncertain, does not tell us
when this occurred. In addition to his duties in the orchestra, Handel
earned a living by teaching private pupils, and through Mattheson he was
engaged by Mr. John Wyche, the English Envoy, as music-master to his small
son Cyril.
Early in 1704 Mattheson went to Holland, where he had some success in
organising concerts at Amsterdam, and was offered the post of organist at
Haarlem. He seems to have had some idea of seeking his fortune in England;
he spoke English well, and may have had useful connexions in England
through Mr. John Wyche. But in March Handel wrote to him that the Hamburg
opera could not get on without him, and to Hamburg he returned. It soon
must have become clear to him that Handel was rapidly outgrowing any need
of his condescending patronage. A _Passion according to St. John_, the
words of which had been written by Postel, an opera-poet turned pietist,
had been set to music by Handel, and performed on Good Friday with marked
success. Mattheson arrived too late to hear it, but it is significant that
twenty years later he published a scathing criticism of it, although it is
a work of little importance in relation to Handel's complete career, and
can seldom have been performed.
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