Georg Friedrich Händel
SOLOMON
(1749)
An Oratorio
Words attributed to Newburgh Hamilton
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Solomon (alto)
Solomons's Queen (soprano)
Nicaule, Queen of Sheba (soprano)
First Harlot (soprano)
Second Harlot (mezzo-soprano)
Zadok, the High Priest (tenor)
A Levite (bass)
Attendant (tenor)
Chorus of Priests
Chorus of Israelites
ACT ONE
1. Overture
Scene 1
Solomon, Zadok, Priests and Chorus.
2. Chorus of Priests
Your harps and cymbals sound
To great Jehovah's
praise;
Unto the Lord of hosts
Your willing voices raise.
3. Air
Levite
Praise ye the Lord for all his mercies
past,
Whose truth, whose justice will for ever last.
4. Chorus of Priests
With pious heart, and holy tongue,
Resound your
Maker's name,
Till distant nations catch the song,
And glow with holy
flame.
5. Accompagnato
Solomon
Almighty pow'r, who rul'st the earth
and skies,
And bade gay order from confusion rise;
Whose gracious hand
reliev'd Thy slave distress'd,
With splendour cloath'd me, and with knowledge
bless'd;
Thy finish'd temple with Thy presence grace,
And shed Thy
heav'nly glories o'er the place.
6. Recitative
Zadok
Imperial Solomon, thy pray'rs are
heard.
See, from the op'ning skies
Descending flames involve the
sacrifice;
And lo! within the sacred dome
That gleamy light,
Profusely
bright,
Declares the Lord of hosts is come.
7. Air
Zadok
Sacred raptures cheer my breast,
Rushing tides
of hallow'd zeal,
Joys too fierce to be express'd,
In this swelling heart
I feel.
Warm enthusiastic fires
In my panting bosom roll,
Hope of
bliss, that ne'er expires,
Dawns upon my ravish'd soul.
Sacred raptures. .
. da capo
8. Chorus of Israelites
Throughout the land Jehovah's praise
record,
For full of pow'r and mercy is the Lord.
9. Recitative
Solomon
Bless'd be the Lord, who look'd with
gracious eyes
Upon His vassals' humble sacrifice,
And has with an
approving smile
My work o'erpaid, and grac'd the pile.
10. Air
Solomon
What though I trace each herb and
flow'r,
That drink the morning dew,
Did I not own Jehovah's pow'r,
How
vain were all I knew.
Say what's the rest but empty boast,
The pedant's
idle claim,
Who having all the substance lost
Attempts to grasp a
name.
What though. . . da capo
Scene 2
To them the Queen.
11. Recitative
Solomon
And see my queen, my wedded
love,
You soon my tenderness shall prove;
A palace shall erect its
head,
Of cedar built, with gold bespread;
Methinks the work is now
begun,
The axe resounds on Lebanon,
And see, bedeck'd with canvas
wings,
The dancing vessel lightly springs,
While Ophir's mines, well
pleas'd, disclose
The wealth that in their entrails glows.
12. Air
Queen
Bless'd the day when first my eyes
Saw the
wisest of the wise!
Bless'd the day when I was led
To ascend the nuptial
bed!
But completely bless'd the day,
On my bosom as he lay,
When he
call'd my charms divine,
Vowing to be only mine.
Bless'd the day. . .
da capo
13. Recitative
Solomon
Thou fair inhabitant of
Nile,
Rejoice thy lover with a smile!
Queen
O monarch, with each virtue bless'd,
The brightest star
that gilds the east:
No joy I know beneath the sun,
But what's compris'd
in Solomon.
With thee, how quickly fled the winter's night,
And short is
summer's length of light.
14. Duet
Queen
Welcome as the dawn of day
To the pilgrim on
his way,
Whom the darkness caus'd to stray,
Is my lovely king to me.
Solomon
Myrtle grove, or rosy shade,
Breathing odours through
the glade
To refresh the village maid,
Yields in sweets, my queen, to
thee.
15. Recitative
Zadok
Vain are the transient beauties of the
face,
Where virtue fails to animate each grace;
Bright and more bright her
radiant face appears,
Nor dreads the canker'd tooth of rolling years:
O'er
such a partner comfort spreads her wing,
And all our life is one perpetual
spring.
16. Air
Zadok
Indulge thy faith and wedded truth
With the
fair partner of thy youth;
She's ever constant, ever kind,
Like the young
roe, or loving hind.
17. Recitative
Solomon
My blooming fair, come, come
away,
My love admits of no delay.
18. Air
Solomon
Haste, haste to the cedar grove,
Where
fragrant spices bloom,
And am'rous turtles love,
Beneath the pleasing
gloom.
While thinking down the hill,
Avoiding hateful day,
The little
murm'ring rill
In whispers glides away.
Haste, haste. . . da capo
19. Recitative
Queen
When thou art absent from my
sight,
The court I shun, and loathe the light.
20. Air
Queen
With thee th'unshelter'd moor I'd tread,
Nor
once of fate complain,
Though burning suns flash'd round my head,
And
cleav'd the barren plain.
Thy lovely form alone I prize,
'Tis thou that
canst impart
Continual pleasure to my eyes,
And gladness to my heart.
21. Chorus
May no rash intruder disturb their soft hours;
To form
fragrant pillows, arise, oh ye flow'rs!
Ye zephirs, soft-breathing, their
slumbers prolong,
While nightingales lull them to sleep with their song.
ACT TWO
Scene 1
Solomon, Zadok, Levite, Chorus of Priests and Israelites.
22. Chorus of Israelites
From the censer curling rise
Grateful
incense to the skies;
Heaven blesses David's throne,
Happy, happy
Solomon!
Live, live for ever, pious David's son;
Live, live for ever,
mighty Solomon.
23. Recitative
Solomon
Prais'd be the Lord, from Him my wisdom
springs;
I bow in-raptur'd to the King of kings.
He led me, abject, to
th'imperial state,
When weak, and trembling for my future
fate;
Strengthen'd by Him, each foe with horror fled,
Then impious Joab at
the altar bled;
The death he oft deserv'd stern Schimei found,
And
Adonijah sunk beneath the wound;
Forc'd by his crimes, I spoke a brother's
doom.
Ah, may his vices perish in his tomb!
24. Air
Solomon
When the sun o'er yonder hills
Pours in
tides the golden day,
Or, when quiv'ring o'er the rills,
In the west he
dies away;
He shall ever hear me sing
Praises to th'eternal King.
25. Recitative
Levite
Great prince, thy resolution's
just;
He never fails, in Heav'n who puts his trust,
True worth consists
not in the pride of state,
'Tis virtue only makes a monarch great.
26. Air
Levite
Thrice bless'd that wise discerning
king,
Who can each passion tame,
And mount on virtue's eagle wing
To
everlasting fame:
Such shall as mighty patterns stand
To princes yet
unborn,
To honour prompt each distant land,
And future times
adorn.
Thrice bless'd. . . da dapo
Scene 2
To them an Attendant.
27. Recitative
Attendant
My sovereign liege, two women
stand,
And both beseech the king's command
To enter here. Dissolv'd in
tears
The one a new-born infant bears;
The other, fierce, and threat'ning
loud,
Declares her story to the crowd;
And thus she clamours to the
throng,
"Seek we the king, he shall redress our wrong."
Solomon
Admit them straight; for when we mount the throne,
Our
hours are all the people's, not our own.
Scene 3
To them the two harlots.
First Harlot
Thou son of David, hear a mother's grief;
And let
the voice of justice bring relief.
This little babe my womb conceiv'd,
The
smiling infant I with joy receiv'd.
That woman also bore a son,
Whose
vital thread was quickly spun:
One house we together kept;
But once,
unhappy, as I slept,
She stole at midnight where I lay,
Bore my soft
darling from my arms away,
And left her child behind, a lump of lifeless
clay:
And now — oh impious! — dares to claim
My right alone, a mother's
name.
28. Trio
First Harlot
Words are weak to paint my
fears;
Heart-felt anguish, starting tears,
Best shall plead a mother's
cause.
To thy throne, O king, I bend,
My cause is just, be thou my friend.
Second Harlot
False is all her melting tale.
Solomon
Justice holds the lifted scale.
Second Harlot
Then be just, and fear the laws.
29. Recitative
Solomon
What says the other to th'imputed
charge?
Speak in thy turn, and tell thy wrongs at large.
Second Harlot
I cannot varnish o'er my tongue.
And colour fair
the face of wrong.
This babe is mine, the womb of earth
Intomb'd, conceals
her little birth.
Give me my child, my smiling boy,
To cheer my breast
with new-born joy.
Solomon
Hear me, women, and the king regard,
Who from his throne
thus reads the just award:
Each claims alike, let both their portions
share;
Divide the babe, thus each her part shall bear.
Quick, bring the
faulchion, and the infant smite,
Nor further clamour for disputed right.
30. Air
Second Harlot
Thy sentence, great king,
Is prudent
and wise,
And my hopes on the wing
Quick bound for the prize.
Contented
I hear,
And approve the decree;
For at least I shall tear
The lov'd
infant from thee.
31. Recitative
First Harlot
Withhold, withhold the executing
hand!
Reverse, O king, thy stern command.
32. Air
First Harlot
Can I see my infant gor'd
With the
fierce relentless sword?
Can I see him yield his breath,
Smiling at the
hand of death?
And behold the purple tides
Gushing down his tender
sides?
Rather be my hopes beguil'd,
Take him all, but spare my child.
33. Accompagnato
Solomon
Israel, attend to what your king
shall say:
Think not I meant the innocent to slay.
The stern decision was
to trace with art,
The secret dictates of the human heart.
She who could
bear the fierce decree to hear,
Nor send one sigh, nor shed one pious
tear,
Must be a stranger to a mother's name —
Hence from my sight, nor
urge a further claim!
But you, whose fears a parent's love
attest,
Receive, and bind him to your beating breast:
To you, in justice,
I the babe restore,
And may you lose him from your arms no more.
34. Duet
First Harlot
Thrice bless'd the king, for he's good
and he's wise.
My gratitude calls streaming tears from my eyes.
Solomon
The Lord all these virtues has giv'n,
Thy thanks be
return'd all to Heav'n.
'Tis God that rewards, and will lift from the
dust
Whom to crush proud oppressors endeavour...
First Harlot
How happy are those who in God put their trust!
Solomon
For His mercy endureth for ever.
35. Chorus of Israelites
From the east unto the west,
Who so wise as
Solomon?
Who like Israel's king is bless'd,
Who so worthy of a throne.
36. Recitative
Zadok
From morn to eve I could enraptur'd
sing
The various virtues of our happy king;
In whom, with wonder, we
behold combin'd
The grace of feature with the worth of mind.
37. Air
Zadok
See the tall palm that lifts the head
On
Jordan's sedgy side,
His tow'ring branches curling spread,
And bloom in
graceful pride.
Each meaner tree regardless springs,
Nor claims our
scornful eyes;
Thus thou art first of mortal kings,
And wisest of the
wise.
See the tall palm. . . da capo
38. Recitative
First Harlot
No more shall armed bands our
hopes destroy,
Peace waves her wing, and pours forth ev'ry joy.
39. Air
First Harlot
Beneath the vine, or fig-tree's
shade,
Ev'ry shepherd sings the maid
Who his simple heart betray'd,
In
a rustic measure.
While of torments he complains,
All around the village
swains
Catch the song, and feel his pains,
Mingling sighs with
pleasure.
Beneath the vine. . . da capo
40. Chorus of Priests
Swell, swell the full chorus to Solomon's
praise,
Record him, ye bards, as the pride of our days.
Flow sweetly the
numbers that dwell on his name,
And rouse the whole nation in songs to his
fame.
Swell, swell. . . da capo
ACT THREE
41. Symphony: arrival of Queen of Sheba
Solomon, Queen of Sheba,
Zadok, and Chorus of Israelites.
42. Recitative
Queen of Sheba
From Arabia's spicy
shores,
Bounded by the boary main,
Sheba's queen these seats
explores,
To be taught thy heav'nly strain.
Solomon
Thrice welcome queen, with open arms
Our court receives
thee, and thy charms.
The temple of the Lord first meets your eyes,
Rich
with the well-accepted sacrifice.
Here all our treasures free
behold,
Where cedars lie, o'erwrought with gold;
Next, view a mansion fit
for kings to own,
The forest call'd of tow'ring Lebanon,
Where art her
utmost skill displays,
And ev'ry object claims your praise.
43. Air
Queen of Sheba
Ev'ry sight these eyes behold
Does a
different charm unfold;
Flashing gems and sculptur'd gold,
Still attract
my ravish'd sight.
But to hear fair truth distilling,
In expressions
choice and thrilling,
From that tongue so soft and killing,
That my soul
does most delight.
44. Recitative
Solomon
Sweep, sweep the string, to soothe the
royal fair,
And rouse each passion with th'alternate air.
45. Solo and Chorus
Solomon & Israelites
Music, spread thy
voice around,
Sweetly flow the lulling sound.
46. Solo and Chorus
Solomon & Israelites
Now a diff'rent
measure try,
Shake the dome, and pierce the sky.
Rouse us next to martial
deeds;
Clanking arms, and neighing steeds,
Seem in fury to oppose —
Now
the hard-fought battle glows.
47. Recitative
Solomon
Then at once from rage remove;
Draw
the tear from hopeless love;
Lengthen out the solemn air,
Full of death
and wild despair.
48. Chorus of Israelites
Draw the tear from hopeless love,
Lengthen
out the solemn air,
Full of death and wild despair.
49. Recitative
Solomon
Next the tortur'd soul release,
And
the mind restore to peace.
50. Solo and Chorus
Solomon & Israelites
Thus rolling
surges rise,
And plough the troubled main;
But soon the tempest
dies,
And all is calm again.
51. Recitative
Queen of Sheba
Thy harmony's divine, great
king,
All, all obey the artist's string.
And now, illustrious prince,
receive
Such tribute as my realm can give.
Here, purest gold, from earth's
dark entrails torn;
And gems resplendent, that outshine the morn;
There
balsam breathes a grateful smell,
With thee the fragrant strangers wish to
dwell.
Yet of ev'ry object I behold,
Amid the glare of gems and
gold,
The temple most attracts my eye,
Where, with unwearied zeal, you
serve the Lord on high.
52. Air
Levite
Pious king, and virtuous queen,
May your
name resound in story;
In time's latest annals seen,
Crown'd with honour,
crown'd with glory.
53. Recitative
Zadok
Thrice happy king, to have
achiev'd,
What scarce will henceforth be believ'd;
When seven times around
the sphere
The sun had led the new-born year,
The temple rose, to mark thy
days
With endless themes for future praise.
Our pious David wish'd in
vain,
By this great act to bless his reign;
But Heav'n the monarch's hopes
withstood,
For ah! his hands were stain'd with blood.
54. Air
Zadok
Golden columns, fair and bright,
Catch the
mortals' ravish'd sight;
Round their sides ambitious twine
Tendrils of the
clasping vine;
Cherubims stand there display'd,
O'er the ark their wings
are laid:
Ev'ry object swells with state,
All is pious, all is great.
55. Double Chorus
Chorus 1
Praise the Lord with harp and
tongue!
Praise Him all ye old and young,
He's in mercy ever strong.
Chorus 2
Praise the Lord through ev'ry state,
Praise Him early,
praise Him late,
God alone is good and great.
Full Chorus
Let the loud Hosannahs rise,
Widely spreading
through the skies,
God alone is just and wise.
56. Recitative
Solomon
Gold now is common on our happy
shore,
And cedars frequent are as sycamore.
All, all conspires to bless my
days;
Fair plenty does her treasures raise,
And o'er the fruitful plains
her countless gifts displays.
57. Air
Solomon
How green our fertile pastures look!
How
fair our olive groves!
How limpid is the gliding brook,
That through the
meadows roves.
A hundred diff'rent balmy flow'rs
Salute the passing
gale,
When ev'ning breezes fan the bow'rs,
And sweep th'enamell'd vale.
58. Recitative
Queen of Sheba
May peace in Salem ever
dwell!
Illustrious Solomon, farewell!
Thy wise instructions be my future
care,
Soft as the show'rs that cheer the vernal air,
Whose warmth bids
ev'ry plant her sweets disclose;
The lily wakes, and paints the op'ning rose.
59. Air
Queen of Sheba
Will the sun forget to
streak
Eastern skies with amber ray,
When the dusky shades to break
He
unbars the gates of day?
Then demand if Sheba's queen
E'er can banish from
her thought
All the splendour she has seen,
All the knowledge thou hast
taught.
60. Recitative
Solomon
Adieu, fair queen, and in thy
breast
May peace and virtue ever rest!
61. Duet
Queen of Sheba
Ev'ry joy that wisdom knows,
May'st
thou, pious monarch, share!
Solomon
Ev'ry blessing Heav'n bestows,
Be thy portion, virtuous
fair!
Queen of Sheba
Gently flow thy rolling days.
Solomon
Sorrow be a stranger here.
Both
May thy people sound thy praise,
Praise unbought by price
of fear.
62. Chorus of Israelites
The name of the wicked shall quickly be
past;
But the fame of the just shall eternally last.