Georg Friedrich Händel Saul

An Epinicion, or Song of Triumph, for the victory over Goliah and the Philistines

How excellent thy name, O Lord,
in all the world is known!
Above all heav’ns, O King ador’d,
how hast thou set thy glorious throne!

An infant rais’d by thy command,
to quell thy rebel foes,
could fierce Goliah’s dreadful hand
superior in the fight oppose.

Along the monster atheist strode,
with more than human pride,
and armies of the living God
exulting in his strength defied.

The youth inspir’d by thee, O Lord,
with ease the boaster slew;
our fainting courage soon restor’d,
and headlong drove that impious crew.

How excellent thy name, O Lord,
in all the world is known!
Above all heav’ns, O King ador’d,
how hast thou set thy glorious throne!
Hallelujah.

Saul, Jonathan, Merab, Michal, etc.; Abner introducing David; High Priest

He comes, he

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David Vickers
Traduction : Sylvie Coquillat

Au début des années 1730, Haendel commence à faire représenter des oratorios anglais pendant le carême, période où il était interdit de donner des opéras italiens. Jusqu’à l’été 1738, il devient évident que des représentations d’opéras italiens ne seraient pas réalisables durant la saison suivante, si bien que Haendel s’affaire à préparer une série de concerts au King’s Theatre, composée presque exclusivement d’œuvres dans le style d’oratorio. Il écrit la partition de Saül entre le 23 juillet et le 27 septembre 1738 ; son oratorio à l’intention dramatique ambitieuse inaugure la saison le 16 janvier 1739 pour être donné six fois en tout.

Charles Jennens (1699/1700–1773) rédige le livret de Saül. Il a suivi des cours à Oxford, mais un diplôme lui a été refusé car il n’a pas reconnu la légalité de la monarchie de Hanovre. Contrairement aux Jacobites

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David Vickers

In the early 1730s Handel began to perform English oratorios during Lent while Italian opera entertainments were forbidden. By summer 1738 it was evident that Italian opera ventures in London were not viable for the forthcoming season, so he set about preparing for a concert series at the King’s Theatre that almost entirely consisted of oratorio-style works. He composed the score of Saul between 23 July and 27 September 1738, and his ambitious dramatic oratorio opened the season on 16 January 1739, and ran for six performances.

The libretto of Saul was written by Charles Jennens (1699/1700–1773), who was educated at Oxford but prevented from gaining his degree because of his political opposition to the legitimacy of the Hanoverian monarchy. Unlike the “Jacobites,” who plotted to restore the Roman Catholic Stuarts from exile, Jennens was a staunch Protestant, and therefore

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