Thomas Morell

Thomas Morell

Thomas Morell (born March 18, 1703 in Eton , Buckinghamshire , † February 19, 1784 in Turnham Green near London , burial on February 27, 1784 in Chiswick ) was an English clergyman and librettist.

Reverend Morell was a student at Eton College and a Fellow of King's College , Cambridge . He wrote the libretto of various well-known works. These include, in particular, several librettos on works by Georg Friedrich Handel , which premiered at the Covent Garden Theater in London :

• Judas Maccabaeus , oratorio, April 1, 1747
• Alexander Balus , March 9, 1748
• Joshua , March 23, 1748
• Solomon , March 17, 1749
• Theodora , March 16, 1750
• Jeptha , February 26, 1752
• The Triumph of Time and Truth , final, final version of Il Trionfo del Tempo , first performed March 11, 1757
• Gideon

The text on Judas Maccabaeus was published in 1747 with a dedication to Prince William, Duke of Cumberland :

"To His Royal Highness Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, this faint portraiture of a Truly Wise, Valiant, and Virtuous Commander, As to the Possessor of the like Noble Qualities, is, with most profound Respect and Veneration, inscribed, by His Royal Highness's Most obedient, and most devoted Servant, The Author. "

There are some anecdotes about the collaboration between Handel and Morell which the latter later published in his memoir .

In addition, Morell published a Latin-English dictionary by the author Robert Ainsworth (1660–1743): An abridgment of Ainsworth's dictionary, English and Latin, designed for the use of schools. By Thomas Morell. and in 1766 the M. Beni. Hederici lexicon manuale graecum by Benjamin Hederich .

Web links

• Portrait of Thomas Morell at the National Portrait Gallery, London.
• Information on Handel's Judas Maccabaeus , with an anecdote about working with Morell. PDF file, (page 8; 32 kB)
• Anecdotes about Handel, two of them about working with Morell. In English, Retrieved November 19, 2018

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Information on Handel and Morell at gutenberg.org
2. ↑ Information on Judas Maccabaeus with a quote from the dedication
3. ↑ Ainsworth's dictionary, English and Latin,… By Thomas Morell, DD Carefully corrected and improved from the last London quarto edition by John Carey (1756–1826), LL.D. Publication info: Philadelphia, U. Hunt; New York, J. & J. Harper; etc., etc. 1829 ( memento from September 19, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) on etext.virginia.edu
4. ^ Benjamin Hederich: M. Beni. Hederici lexicon manuale graecum… , comment there: “This third London printing is the first to be edited by William Young. Young, however, was unable to take advantage of the improvements introduced by Ernesti in an edition printed in Leipzig in 1754; these were first incorporated in a London edition by Thomas Morell in 1766. "