The Play of Daniel : Dufay Collective

Ludus Danielis (The Play of Daniel)

The Dufay Collective
William Lyons,
Vivien Ellis, Clara Sanabras (sopranos)
John Potter, Harvey Brough (tenors)
Simon Grant (bass)
Choristers of Southwell Minster

Ludus Danielis (The Play of Daniel) is a vivid twelfth-century liturgical drama of collective authorship whose manuscript originated at Beauvais Cathedral in northern France.
It relates how the prophet Daniel deciphered the Writing on the Wall for King Belshazzar, and then was miraculously saved from the lions’ den. The story was probably sung and acted out by young clerics during the Christmas festivities, when liturgical rigor was relaxed somewhat.
This mesmerizing recording transports us back to the origins of music as spectacle: long before the advent of opera, the Church had already grasped the impact of dramatic performance.
Drawing on unbroken traditions and using improvisatory techniques, The Dufay Collective deftly recreates this medieval entertainment with its rich palette ranging from solo voice to the full complement of choir, harps, vielles, hurdy-gurdy, organ, church bells and percussion.

“The group’s exquisite command of instruments held me entranced.” - The independent on Sunday, UK
( Harmonia Mundi USA )