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''Abimelech'' is an oratorio in three acts written by Christopher Smart and put to music by Samuel Arnold. It was first performed in Haymarket Theatre in 1768. A heavily revised version of the oratorio ran at the Covent Garden in 1772. ''Abimelech'' was the second of two oratorio librettos written by Smart, the first being ''Hannah'' written in 1764. Just like ''Hannah'', ''Abimelech'' ran for only one night, each time. It was to be Smart's last work dedicated to an adult audience. ''Abimelech'' retells the biblical story of Abraham and Sarah when they met the King of Gerar, Abimelech, and he tries to take Sarah as his wife. After God intervenes in a dream, Sarah, who was previously barren, is restored to Abraham and made fertile. The oratorio emphasizes the sexual jealousy and the sexual fidelity of spouses. ==Background== Years before, Smart wrote a libretto for an oratorio called ''Hannah''.〔Sherbo p. 245〕 Like ''Hannah'', Smart most likely wrote the work out of a need to earn money.〔Anderson p. 49〕 However, his previous oratorio only lasted a few nights, and Smart hoped that his second could succeed where the other failed.〔 This would be the last work in Smart's final years that was written completely for adults.〔Anderson p. 109〕 An advertisement for ''Abimelech'' ran in the "Musical Intelligencer" section, of the ''Public Advertiser'', on 16 March which said: "YOUNG Abimilech will be ''exercised'' on ''Foote's'' Theatrical ''Heath'' on Wednesday next, when he will run ''three Trial-heats''. He was bred by the celebrated ''Kit Crazy'', who rode ''flying Pegasus'' the great Match round the ''Hop-Garden'' and who is universally allowed to be a SMART Fellow, and a tolerable ''Psalmodist''. ''Abimilech'' is ''half Brothers'' to ''Saul'', which beat ''Sampson'' on Friday 19th of February, tho' the Odds ''in the upper half of the Scaffold'' were ''Three and a Half to One''. ''Abimilech'' has been a long while in Training under little ''Arnold'', a Man of ''sound-Knowledge'', who tho' of a diminutive Size, hath such amazing ''Strength'' in his ''Composition'', that, when he ''gets with his Airs'', he will seize on any Man alive, and ''take him by the Ears''."〔Mounsey p. 270〕 ''Abimelech'' was performed once at the Theatre Royal on 18 March 1768 and once, after Smart's death, at Covent Garden on 25 March 1772.〔Smart (1983) p. 160〕 There are no surviving scores for ''Abimelech'', but the libretto was sold during its run at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, in 1768 and the run of the revised version of the oratorio at the Covent-Garden in 1772.〔Smart (1983) p. 161〕 These works were published anonymously but Charles Burney, Smart's friend, attributes the libretto to Smart and pasticcios from Handel in his ''General History of Music''.〔Burney, Charles. ''General History of Music''. Vol IV, London: 1789. p. 666〕 The "pasticcios" were musical selections from Handel used by the composer Samuel Arnold.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Abimelech (oratorio)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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