Overture
ACT THREE, Scene 3
84. Solo and Chorus (“Glorious hero”)
Israelites
Glorious hero, may thy grave
Peace and honour ever have,
After all thy pains and woes,
Rest etemal, sweet repose!
ACT ONE, Scene 2
12. Air (“Total eclipse!”)
Samson
Total eclipse! No sun, no moon!
All dark amidst the blaze of noon!
Oh, glorious light! No cheering ray
To glad my eyes with welcome day!
Why thus depriv’d Thy prime decree?
Sun, moon, and stars are dark to me!
For the complete oratorio, see
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I have been listening to some music today, mostly Handel, including a bit of “Samson,” an oratorio.
Handel composed “Samson” right after “Messiah.” He wrote “Messiah” in 24 days! He wrote “Samson” in about a month!
The libretto of “Samson” was based on John Milton’s “Samson Agonistes.”
It is my opinion – perhaps a minority one – that “Samson” is just about equal to “Messiah,” if not in fact equal.
It evokes such an emotional response. Raises goose bumps.
Listen to “Glorious Hero,” for example.
My mother majored in Fine Arts at Radcliffe College. She had quite a few art books from her college days that my siblings and I used to peruse.
There was a reproduction of a painting in one of her art books: “Samson and the Philistines” by Carl Heinrich Bloch, which was painted in Rome in 1863. It made such an impression on me. The painting shows Samson, in captivity, grinding grain on a treadmill. I couldn’t stop looking at it.
So did the Biblical story of Samson itself, which I knew from Sunday school.
— Roger W. Smith
May 4, 2016

Samson in the Treadmill (1863) by Carl Bloch
Hello!
I’m a first time visitor and I’m glad your blog came up in my search online.
I searched your blog for Handel’s “Messiah” but I didn’t find it. Is there any possibility that you would upload a post about it?
Thanks all the way from Nigeria!
Hi. Thanks much for visiting my site and for your comment.
I have posted Handel’s oratorio “Samson” on this blog at
https://rogersgleanings.com/2016/01/21/handel-samson/
I have not posted “Messiah” on my site, which is why you could not find it.