Handel: Samson

Album by George Frideric Handel & Raymond Leppard & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Samson is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel, first performed in 1743. The work exemplifies Handel's mature Baroque oratorio style, combining dramatic recitatives, expressive solo writing and expansive choral textures in English and reflecting his late-career focus on large-scale Biblical narratives within the English choral tradition.

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Disc 1

  1. 1.
    Recitative: Can’st thou for this, vain boaster? (Samson, Harapha)
    0:53
  2. 2.
    Duet: Go, baffled coward, go (Samson, Harapha)
    2:26
  3. 3.
    Recitative: Here lies the proof (Samson)
    1:02
  4. 4.
    Hear, Jacob’s God, Jehovah, hear! (Chorus)
    3:48
  5. 5.
    Recitative: Dagon, arise, attend thy sacred feast! (Harapha)
    0:19
  6. 6.
    Fix’d in his everlasting seat (Chorus)
    3:08
  7. 7.
    ACT THREE. Recitative: More trouble is behind, for Harapha (Micah, Samson, Harapha)
    1:51
  8. 8.
    Air: Presuming slave, to move their wrath! (Harapha)
    2:34
  9. 9.
    Recitative: Consider, Samson, matters now are strain’d (Micah, Samson)
    1:05
  10. 10.
    With thunder arm’d great God, arise! (Chorus)
    3:05
  11. 11.
    Recitative: Be of good courage (Samson)
    1:15
  12. 12.
    Air: Thus when the sun from’s wat’try bed (Samson)
    4:34
  13. 13.
    Air: Great Dagon has subdued our foe (Israelite Woman, Chorus)
    2:05
  14. 14.
    Recitative: What noise of joy was that? (Manoah, Micah)
    0:58
  15. 15.
    Air: How willing my paternal love (Manoah)
    4:04
  16. 16.
    Recitative: Your hopes of his deliv’ry seem not vain (Micah, Manoah, Chorus)
    2:10
  17. 17.
    Air: Ye sons of Israel, now lament (Micah, Chorus)
    4:33
  18. 18.
    Symphony: dead march
    3:41
  19. 19.
    Glorious hero, may thy grave (Manoah, Chorus)
    4:13
  20. 20.
    Recitative: Come, come! no time for lamentation now (Manoah)
    0:42
  21. 21.
    Air: Let the bright Seraphim in bringing row (Israelite Woman, Chorus)
    6:28
  22. 22.
    Let their celestial soncerts all unite (Chorus)
    3:01

Disc 2

  1. 2.
    SAMSON, Oratorio in three acts, HWV 57 - Symphony
    4:09
  2. 3.
    ACT ONE. Awake the trumpet’s lofty sound! (Chorus)
    1:58
  3. 4.
    Air: Ye men of Gaza, hither bring (Israelite Woman, Chorus)
    4:21
  4. 5.
    Recitative: Why by an angel was my birth foretold (Samson)
    1:17
  5. 6.
    Air: Total eclipse! No sun, no moon! (Samson)
    5:08
  6. 7.
    Oh first created beam! And thou great world! (Chorus)
    4:13
  7. 8.
    Recitative: Brethren and men of Dan, say, where is my son (Manoah, Micah)
    1:07
  8. 9.
    Air: To sorrows now I tune my song (Manoah)
    2:18
  9. 10.
    Recitative: Justly these evils have befall’n thy son (Samson)
    1:37
  10. 11.
    Air: Why does the God of Israel sleep? (Samson)
    3:26
  11. 12.
    Recitative: For thee, my dearest son, must thou meanwhile (Manoah, Samson)
    2:15
  12. 13.
    Air: Then long eternity shall greet your bliss (Micah)
    1:02
  13. 14.
    Air: Joys that are pure, sincerely good (Micah)
    3:50
  14. 15.
    Then round about the starry throne (Chorus)
    3:28
  15. 16.
    ACT TWO. Air: Return, O God of hosts! (Micah)
    4:12
  16. 17.
    Recitative: But who is this, that so bedeck’d and gay (Micah, Samson)
    1:47
  17. 18.
    Air: With plaintive notes and am’rous moan (Israelite Woman)
    4:26
  18. 19.
    Recitative: Did love constrain thee? (Samson)
    0:55
  19. 20.
    Air: Your charms to ruin led the way (Samson)
    3:48
  20. 21.
    Recitative: Forgive what’s done (Dalila)
    0:32
  21. 22.
    Duet: My faith and truth, O Samson, prove (Dalila, Israelite Woman)
    3:59
  22. 23.
    Recitative: Let me approach, at least, and touch my hand (Dalila, Samson)
    0:31
  23. 24.
    Duet: Traitor to love! I’ll sue no more (Dalila, Samson)
    1:39
  24. 25.
    Recitative: She’s gone! A serpent manifest (Micah, Samson, Harapha)
    2:25
  25. 26.
    Air: Honour and arms scorn such a foe (Harapha)
    5:48

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