| Ludus Danielis | - Friday 19th January, 2007, 8pm
- King's College Chapel, Cambridge
- Tickets range from £8 to £30 and are available from the Cambridge Corn Exchange box office on 01223 357851
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Based on the Old Testament story of the exiled prophet Daniel, Ludus Danielis is a 13th Century musical drama originally performed on New Year's Day by the clerics of Beauvais Cathedral in Northern France. It focuses on three dramatic events in Daniel's life: deciphering the writing on the wall at Balthazzar's feast, escaping from the lions' den and prophesying the coming of the Messiah. Performed traditionally in the new year as part of the revelry of the Feast of Fools, the play combines burlesque with the mysteries of the bible story - brought to life in the magnificent setting of King's College Chapel.  | | Daniel escapes from the lions' den |
Andrew Lawrence-King, acclaimed performer and conductor of early music, leads The Harp Consort, an ensemble of singers and performers on medieval instruments including shawm, psaltery, medieval harp, synfonie, pipes and vielles. The original manuscript of Ludus Danielis consists of a single line of notation with the text, without reference to rhythm or tempo. Performing the play today therefore requires interpreting and transcribing the original notation into a modern score. Early music demands that musicians exercise the freedom to improvise whilst retaining authenticity, and conductor Lawrence-King takes the original single melodic line, and invites his musicians - well versed in early music - to embellish it spontaneously through ensemble improvisation. In this way, each and every performance of Ludus Danielis is a unique musical event. The play, which is a collaboration between Lawrence-King and minimalist Japanese theatre director, Akemi Horie, features among its cast a number of Cambridge-educated artistes: Lawrence-King, himself, won an organ scholarship to Cambridge; singer and composer Harvey Brough studied at Clare College; singer Simon Grant began his career as a chorister at King's College; tenor and musician Ian Honeyman studied at King's College and finally, singer and conductor Julian Podger took up a choral award at Trinity before launching his solo career. Performance details| "The architectural features of [the venue] will set the principal tone and texture of the production. My approach will be to keep it simple & inventive" | | Akemi Horie, director of Ludus Danielis |
There will be only the one performance of Ludus Danielis in Cambridge - at 8pm at King's College Chapel on Friday 19th January - however, two performances will also be staged at Southwark Cathedral in London on the 17th and 18th January. Tickets for the Cambridge performance are available from the Corn Exchange on 01223 357851. Tickets for the London performances are available from the Barbican box office on 020 7638 8891. Images of the Danielis manuscript are used by permission of the British Library: Add. MS 11695, folio 239. | 
