Abimelech an oratorio. As it is performed at the theatre-royal in Covent-Garden [by Christopher Smart]. The Music by Mr. Arnold |
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 | I. | PART THE FIRST. |
| II. |
| III. |
 | Abimelech |  |
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I. PART THE FIRST.
FIRST CHORUS.
Welcome Abraham and his train,
To Abimelech's domain;
Welcome, O ye great distrest!
To our peaceful bed of rest;
Welcome ye congenial souls
To our board and to our bowls;
Welcome Abraham and his train
To Abimelech's domain.
Abimelech and Sarah.
To Abimelech's domain;
Welcome, O ye great distrest!
To our peaceful bed of rest;
Welcome ye congenial souls
To our board and to our bowls;
Welcome Abraham and his train
To Abimelech's domain.
Recitative.
Abim.O fair perfection, sister to the man,
Whom conscience bids me honour, lend an ear
To that soft language thou alone hast taught me,
And feed my hopes a little—At thy feet
The royal crown of Gerar I deposit,
And pray thy sweet acceptance—All I have
Of rich possessions, honour, pleasure, pow'r,
Is thine by grant immediate; and myself,
With all that rank beneath me, court thy service.
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AIR.
To my passion condescending,And my am'rous suit attending,
Take a mighty monarch's part,
Hear love's language thus inviting,
And delighted in delighting,
O restore me heart for heart.
ABRAHAM.
Recitative accompanied.
O great and glorious! at whose footstool fallsThe seraph adoration, and renews
His hymns and praise for ever—hear thy servant:
For all the num'rous realms that know thee not,
And for this king Abimelech, with whom
I sojourn for a season—O prepare
His heart to learn thy judgments, curb his passions,
Lest beauty tempt his ruin—Ah, deceit!
How much art thou beneath me—'twas a fault
To counterfeit at all—yet on this rock
I build my hope eternal—my sincerity,
Which is to God my Saviour.
AIR.
O great to conquer and to spare,
Which couldst all obstacle subdue;
Do thou, my Saviour, form my pray'r;
Be thou my word and music too.
Bless all thy host, that on thee wait,
Whate'er their title or degree;
Transcendant Good, sublimely great,
Are less than nothing without thee.
Which couldst all obstacle subdue;
Do thou, my Saviour, form my pray'r;
Be thou my word and music too.
Bless all thy host, that on thee wait,
Whate'er their title or degree;
Transcendant Good, sublimely great,
Are less than nothing without thee.
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Bless all mankind beneath the sun,
Who know thee, and who know thee not;
Bless all that creep, that fly, that run,
Or in vast ocean have their lot.
And, Oh, thy special blessing send,
On all that Abraham calls his own,
But chief, my fair domestic friend,
Still to be mine, and mine alone.
Who know thee, and who know thee not;
Bless all that creep, that fly, that run,
Or in vast ocean have their lot.
And, Oh, thy special blessing send,
On all that Abraham calls his own,
But chief, my fair domestic friend,
Still to be mine, and mine alone.
CHORUS.
Attend, to Abraham's prayer attend,And aid his vows as they ascend,
Ye cherub hosts who keep your posts,
Where love and rapture have no end.
Recitative.
Sarah.All things are irksome to me in this place,
And every object fills me with disgust.
Wou'd I had never left my house and kindred
For such a vagrant life—Can ought compensate
For our dear peaceful home and native country?
AIR.
Ah, memory, my cruel foe,
How much you daily work for woe!
The past upon the present hour,
How I was miss'd, you bring to view,
And all my former scenes renew.
My ev'ning walks, my fav'rite bow'r;
How much you daily work for woe!
The past upon the present hour,
How I was miss'd, you bring to view,
And all my former scenes renew.
My ev'ning walks, my fav'rite bow'r;
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The friendships I was wont to share,
The flow'rs I nursed with so much care;
My garden, grotto, and my bees,
And, all these little griefs above,
My mother's and my sisters love,
And father's blessing on my knees.
The flow'rs I nursed with so much care;
My garden, grotto, and my bees,
And, all these little griefs above,
My mother's and my sisters love,
And father's blessing on my knees.
Yet, taunter of the past delight,
That urgest grief in such despight,
Some soothing pow'rs to thee belong;
Do not those soothing pow'rs refuse,
But, as the mother of the Muse,
Shape all my sorrows into song.
That urgest grief in such despight,
Some soothing pow'rs to thee belong;
Do not those soothing pow'rs refuse,
But, as the mother of the Muse,
Shape all my sorrows into song.
Recitative.
Hagar.She has conceal'd her soul's supreme distaste,
And dreads to tell thee farther—Lo, her ears
Have suffer'd profanation from the lips
Of an enamour'd Gentile—Couldst think,
That men remoter from the truth of God,
And more of brutal nature, should controul
Their appetites from such a form as Sarah's?
AIR.
Of all mankind the least and last,Ev'n servile souls of meanest cast,
Can see when beauty's in excess,
And what they see they would possess.
When the full moon's resplendant face,
Besilvers all the vaulted space;
No sight so short but can descry,
What shines so bright and soars so high.
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Recitative.
Abrah.I have been much to blame, nor is there remedy,
But from yon infinitely good and gracious.
This monarch is not quite so much an alien
As sundry are; and has not yet, I trust,
Broke thro' the laws of hospitality,
Which have been bounteous to us—God is love.
To lust and filth his hatred is so mighty,
That every check is given to stop their rage.
AIR.
The main is controul'd by the shores,
The wind makes the deluge give way;
The lion that hungers and roars,
The flames will affright from his prey.
The wind makes the deluge give way;
The lion that hungers and roars,
The flames will affright from his prey.
The brute that in lust would rebel,
Has conscience coercive within,
At once to restrain and to quell,
And terrify passion from sin.
Has conscience coercive within,
At once to restrain and to quell,
And terrify passion from sin.
CHORUS.
When love controuls the human heart,Or mad'ning passion fires the brain,
Nature then shines exempt from art,
And prince and peasant are the same.
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Recitative.
Sarah.Let me be with thee;—stir not for a moment,
And shield my very ears from violation—
The handmaid too is fair, and needs protection,
Amongst such eyes as here are—'tis expedient
We meditate our flight, and shift the scene
For some sequester'd wilderness or cave.
AIR.
Hence thy flight with Sarah shape,Let my terrors be obey'd;
Night's the season for escape,
Let us seek her friendly shade.
From the view of courts and kings,
Change the region, change the clime.
O that Fear, that Fear had wings,
As they tell of Love and Time!
Recitative.
Hagar.If Sarah has found favour in thy sight,
And gave her heart's whole preference to thee,
From such a throng of suitors take her council;
The terror of a flight is not so grievous,
As dread suspence and dangerous delay.
AIR.
Hear thy handmaids thus imploring,
Trust not yet another day;
But the God of truth adoring,
Ask for guidance in the way.
Trust not yet another day;
But the God of truth adoring,
Ask for guidance in the way.
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Bitter grief should claim attention,
If her sorrows reason right;
There's no wisdom like prevention,
And the triumph's in the flight.
If her sorrows reason right;
There's no wisdom like prevention,
And the triumph's in the flight.
Recitative.
Abrah.Canst thou deprive the tygress of her cubs
Before her glaring eye-balls?—Hagar, No;
There is suspicion too of such a step—
And this same Phichol, captain of the host,
Is watchful as Orion o'er the night,
Harrangues his troops with ceaseless exhortation,
And by his diligence defies illusion.
Had flight been possible, I had not tarried
For all these pangs of jealousy and grief.
Phicol, with Officers, Soldiers, &c.
Recitative.
Phicol.There is a stranger sojourns in our court,
A man of wond'rous eminence, and call'd
The friend of God—he, likewise is right valiant,
And glorious is the tale of his renown—
His sister too of beauty most attractive,
Has smote our Master, and he doats and fawns,
Till Abraham sighs and weeps—whence I foresee
A rupture—stand ye, therefore, all prepar'd;
For, ere the great Abimelech should feel
One stroke of hostile insolence—I fall.
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CHORUS
for Warlike Music.Rouse, ye sons of warlike sires,
Rouse ye to the grand alarm;
Rouse, as loyalty inspires—
See the thund'ring coursers bound,
To the trumpet's lofty sound;
Arm—Resolution—Arm.
End of the First Part.
| Abimelech | |