The ''Play of Daniel'', or ''Ludus Danielis'', is either of two medieval
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
liturgical drama
Liturgical drama refers to medieval forms of dramatic performance that use stories from the Bible or Christian hagiography.
The term was widely disseminated by well-known theater historians like Heinrich Alt (''Theater und Kirche'', 1846), E.K. C ...
s based on the biblical
Book of Daniel
The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th century BC setting. Ostensibly "an account of the activities and visions of Daniel, a noble Jew exiled at Babylon", it combines a prophecy of history with an eschatology (a ...
, one of which is accompanied by
monophonic
Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction (often shortened to mono) is sound intended to be heard as if it were emanating from one position. This contrasts with stereophonic sound or ''stereo'', which uses two separate audio channels to reproduc ...
music.
The play itself dates from c. 1140. Two medieval plays of Daniel survive. The first version is in a manuscript conserved in the French National Library (Lat 11331) ; the text is by
Hilarius Hilarius is the given name of:
* Hilarius of Aquileia (died c. 284), saint, bishop of Aquileia, Italy
* Hilarius or Hilary of Poitiers (c. 310 – c. 367), Bishop of Poitiers and Doctor of the Church
* Hilary the Deacon (Latin: Hilarius Diacon ...
, and no music accompanies it. The second version is a 13th-century drama with monophonic music, written about 1227 to 1234 by students at the school of
Beauvais Cathedral
The Cathedral of Saint Peter of Beauvais (french: Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Beauvais) is a Roman Catholic church in the northern town of Beauvais, Oise, France. It is the seat of the Bishop of Beauvais, Noyon and Senlis.
The cathedral is in t ...
, located in northern France.
[ ] A large portion of the text is poetic rather than strictly
liturgical
Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...
in origin; it closely follows the narrative of the
biblical
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
story of
Daniel
Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...
at the court of
Belshazzar
Belshazzar (Babylonian cuneiform: ''Bēl-šar-uṣur'', meaning " Bel, protect the king"; ''Bēlšaʾṣṣar'') was the son and crown prince of Nabonidus (556–539 BC), the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Through his mother he might ...
.
In the US the latter play was revived in the 1950s by
Noah Greenberg
Noah Greenberg (April 9, 1919 – January 9, 1966) was an American choral conductor.
Greenberg was born in the Bronx. In 1937, aged 18, he joined the Socialist Workers Party of Max Shachtman, and worked as a lathe operator and party activist. He ...
, director of the
New York Pro Musica
New York Pro Musica was a vocal and instrumental ensemble based in New York City, which specialized in Medieval and Renaissance early music, music. It was co-founded in 1952, under the name Pro Musica Antiqua, by Noah Greenberg, a choral director, ...
; a commentary in English, written and performed by
W. H. Auden
Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry was noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in ...
, was used in some of their performances. A recorded 1958 performance by the group at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
, and featuring boy choristers of the
Church of the Transfiguration
The Church of the Transfiguration ( he, כנסיית ההשתנות) is a Franciscan church located on Mount Tabor in Israel. It is traditionally believed to be the site where the Transfiguration of Jesus took place, an event in the Gospels in ...
as satraps and soldiers, was released by
Decca Decca may refer to:
Music
* Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label
* Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group
* Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label
* Decca Studios, a recording facility in We ...
, with sleeve notes by
Paul Henry Lang
Paul Henry Lang (August 28, 1901 – September 21, 1991) was a Hungarian-American musicologist and music critic.
Career
Lang was born as "Pál Láng" in Budapest, Hungary, and was educated in Catholic schools. In 1918, as World War I was coming ...
and
Dom Dom or DOM may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Dom (given name), including fictional characters
* Dom (surname)
* Dom La Nena (born 1989), stage name of Brazilian-born cellist, singer and songwriter Dominique Pinto
* Dom people, an et ...
Rembert Weakland
Rembert George Samuel Weakland (April 2, 1927 – August 22, 2022) was an American Benedictine monk who served as Archbishop of Milwaukee from 1977 to 2002. Shortly before his mandatory retirement at the age of 75, it was revealed in the pre ...
,
O.S.B.
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, found ...
, who had discovered the text at the
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
.
[Joseph Kerman, ''Contemplating Music''. Harvard, 1985, p. 195.] Since the New York Pro Musica production it has enjoyed many performances among early music troupes.
Also important in the history of modern revivals of the Beauvais Cathedral version, ''Daniel'' was the 1985 production of the
Boston Camerata
The Boston Camerata is an early music ensemble based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1954 by Narcissa Williamson, at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, as an adjunct to that museum's musical instrument collection.
The Camerata incorporat ...
, staged by Andrea von Ramm, with musical direction by
Joel Cohen. In 2008, The
Dufay Collective
The Dufay Collective is an Early music, early-music ensemble from the United Kingdom, specializing in Medieval music, Medieval and Renaissance music. Founded in 1987, it was named after the Renaissance composer Guillaume Dufay. The group is direc ...
and William Lyons released their CD, ''The Play of Daniel'' on the Harmonia Mundi usa label. A new production of the ''Play of Daniel'' by the Boston Camerata, this time under the direction of French-born medievalist
Anne Azéma
Anne Azéma (born October 19, 1957) is a French-born soprano, scholar, and stage director. She is currently artistic director of the Boston Camerata. She has been an important or leading singer of early music since 1993. She has created and dir ...
, was presented in Boston in November, 2014. Daniel was played by tenor Jordan Weatherston Pitts.
In 2008, a new production, staged by Drew Minter with musical direction by Mary Anne Ballard in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the noted
Cloisters
A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...
production of 1958, was created, also at the Cloisters. The show has been reprised in subsequent seasons, in 2012 at the Cloisters and in 2013 and 2014 as part of the Twelfth Night Festival at
Trinity Church Wall Street.
Characters
* Belshazzar's Prince
*
Belshazzar
Belshazzar (Babylonian cuneiform: ''Bēl-šar-uṣur'', meaning " Bel, protect the king"; ''Bēlšaʾṣṣar'') was the son and crown prince of Nabonidus (556–539 BC), the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Through his mother he might ...
* Two Wise Men
* Three Envious Counselors
*
Habakkuk
Habakkuk, who was active around 612 BC, was a prophet whose oracles and prayer are recorded in the Book of Habakkuk, the eighth of the collected twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew Bible. He is revered by Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
Almost al ...
* Belshazzar's Queen
*
Daniel
Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...
*
Darius the Mede
Darius the Mede is mentioned in the Book of Daniel as king of Babylon between Belshazzar and Cyrus the Great, but he is not known to history, and no additional king can be placed between the known figures of Belshazzar and Cyrus. Most scholars v ...
* Two Advisors
* An
angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
* Herald Angel
*
Satraps
A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires.
The satrap served as viceroy to the king, though with con ...
and
soldiers
A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer.
Etymology
The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...
Adaptations
It was
adapted for Australian TV in 1961.
References
Recordings
* The Dufay Collective: ''The Play of Daniel''. harmonia mundi usa, 2008
* New York's Ensemble for Early Music: "Ludus Danielis". Dir. Renz Frederick - Foné Ita, 1996
* Ensemble Venance Fortunat: "Daniel - Opéra sacré". Dir. Anne-Marie Deschamps - L'Empreinte Digitale, 1996
Further reading
* Richard H. Hoppin, ''Medieval Music''. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1978.
* Stevens, John. "Medieval Drama, II", in Grove Music Online (Accessed October 11, 2006)
(subscription access)
{{Authority control
Medieval drama
Plays based on the Bible
Cultural depictions of Belshazzar
Darius the Mede
United States National Recording Registry recordings
Medieval compositions
Plays set in the 6th century BC
Cultural depictions of Daniel (biblical figure)