Samuel Humphreys (c.1697–1738) was an English poet, librettist and translator. He is known for the words he wrote for Handel's oratorios ''

Esther Esther is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther. In the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, is deposed for disobeying him. Hadassah, a Jewess who goes by the name of Esther, is chosen ...

'' (1732), ''

Deborah According to the Book of Judges, Deborah ( he, דְּבוֹרָה, ''Dəḇōrā'', "bee") was a prophetess of the God of the Israelites, the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel and the only female judge mentioned in the Bible. Many scholars ...

'' (1733), and ''

Athalia Athaliah ( el, Γοθολία ''Gotholía''; la, Athalia) was the daughter of either king Omri, or of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel of Israel, the queen consort of Judah as the wife of King Jehoram, a descendant of King David, and later quee ...

'' (1733).

Life

Humphreys was an educated man, who wrote as a poet from around 1728 to 1732, a period during which he also worked for

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

. He took up work as a translator, too. These employments followed some personal reverses. He died in

Canonbury Canonbury is a residential area of Islington in the London Borough of Islington, North London. It is roughly in the area between Essex Road, Upper Street and Cross Street and either side of St Paul's Road. In 1253 land in the area was granted to ...

, where he had rooms, on 11 January 1738. He was buried in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

churchyard.

Works

Humphreys was known as the author of a ''Life'' of

Matthew Prior Matthew Prior (21 July 1664 – 18 September 1721) was an English poet and diplomat. He is also known as a contributor to ''The Examiner (1710–1714), The Examiner''. Early life Prior was probably born in Middlesex. He was the son of a Noncon ...

, with an edition of 1733 of Prior's poems. He wrote also: *verses on Canons the stately home, inscribed to the

Duke of Chandos The Dukedom of Chandos is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England. First created as a barony by Edward III in 1337, its second creation in 1554 was due to the Brydges family's service to Mary I during Wyatt's rebellion, wh ...

, 1728; *''Malpasia, a Poem Sacred to the Memory of … Lady Malpas'', 1732; *''Ulysses, an Opera'', 1733, libretto for

John Christopher Smith John Christopher Smith (born Johann Christoph Schmidt; 1712, Ansbach3 October 1795, Bath) was an English composer who, following in his father's footsteps, became George Frideric Handel's secretary and amanuensis. Life John Christopher Smith wa ...

; and *''Annotations on the Old and New Testament'', 1735. For Handel, Humphreys provided expansion to the libretto for ''Esther'' (1732), and the libretti for ''Deborah'' (1733), and ''Athalia''. Besides writing original libretti, he translated the following dramas and operas: '' Poro, Re dell' Indie'', 1731; ''

Rinaldo Rinaldo may refer to: *Renaud de Montauban (also spelled Renaut, Renault, Italian: Rinaldo di Montalbano, Dutch: Reinout van Montalbaen, German: Reinhold von Montalban), a legendary knight in the medieval Matter of France * Rinaldo (''Jerusalem Lib ...

'', 1731; ''Venceslao'', 1731; ''

Catone in Utica ''Catone in Utica'' (; ) is an opera libretto by Metastasio, that was originally written for Leonardo Vinci's 1727 opera. Following Vinci's success, Metastasio's text was used by numerous composers of the baroque and classical eras for thei ...

'', 1732; '' Ezio'', 1732; '' Sosarme Re di Media'', 1732. His ''Peruvian Tales'' (1734, republished in 1817), translated from Thomas-Simon Gueullette, and continued by Samuel Kelly, were popular. He also translated the ''Spectacle de la nature'', by Antoine Noël, abbé de la Pluche, London, 1733, and pieces by

Crébillon Crébillon is a French surname. Notable people with that name include: * Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon (1674–1762), French poet and tragedian * Claude Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon Claude Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon (13 February 1707 – 12 Apri ...

and

La Fontaine Jean de La Fontaine (, , ; 8 July 162113 April 1695) was a French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his '' Fables'', which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Eu ...

Notes

External links

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Humphreys, Samuel 1738 deaths English male poets English librettists English translators Year of birth uncertain