The work of George Frederic Handel, Johann Sebastian Bach and their contemporaries, including Domenico Scarlatti, Antonio Vivaldi, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Georg Philipp Telemann, and others advanced the Baroque era to its climax.[22] Through the work of Johann Fux, the Renaissance style of polyphony was made the basis for the study of composition.[18]
A continuous worker, Handel borrowed from other composers and often "recycled" his own material. He was also known for reworking pieces such as the famous Messiah, which premiered in 1742, for available singers and musicians.[