t rarely heard now--is to be seen in the
Royal Collection of Handel manuscripts at Buckingham Palace, though a
portion of it is missing. No one who finds his way to the church of
Little Stanmore should fail to notice the organ, for it is the
instrument used by Handel from 1718 to 1721, and on which he played
the organ parts of 'Esther,' when the oratorio was performed for the
first time in the Duke's chapel. With the lavishness that was his
chief characteristic the Duke handed to the composer on this occasion
L1,000, but in so doing he may have been actuated by a sincere desire
to add to Handel's independence. Those were very happy and busy years
which Handel passed at Cannons. Amongst the numerous compositions for
the harpsichord belonging to this period is the suite of pieces which
includes the air, with variations, popularly known as 'The Harmonious
Blacksmith,' The origin of this title has for long been a matter of
discussion; it is quite certain that Handel himself did not so name
the piece, for the manuscript bears the title only of 'Air et
Doubles,' nor was it ever known by any other name during the
composer's lifetime. Yet there are few of us, perhaps, who willingly
reject as fable the story which for many years after Handel's death
was believed to have given a true account of its origin. According to
this story Handel was one day walking to Cannons through the village
of Edgware, when he was overtaken by a heavy shower of rain, and
sought shelter within the smithy. The blacksmith was singing at his
work, and the strokes of his hammer on the anvil kept time to his
song. Handel, it is said, was so struck both by the air and its
accompaniment that on reaching home he wrote down the tune with a set
of variations upon it. Assuming this story to have no foundation in
fact, no satisfactory explanation has been forthcoming to account for
the origin of the title, and when, in 1835, the story was
investigated, it was claimed that both anvil and hammer had been
traced as having passed through several hands. The blacksmith's name
was said to have been Powell, and the anvil is described as bearing a
capital P, and, further, that 'when struck with the hammer it gives,
first, the note B, but immediately afterwards sounds E. These notes
correspond very nearly with the B-flat and E-flat of our present
concert pitch, and therefore coincide very closely with the E-natural
and B-natural of Handel's times,'[3] Again, with regard to