ALKIS BALTAS, composer and conductor

Nikos Georgakis, narrator

Patmos Festival Orchestra and Vocal Ensemble

The extraordinary album DANIEL IN LIONS’ DEN presents music by Greek composer Alkis Baltas.

In the period spanning between the 10th and the 13th century, a new musical-theatrical form appears in Europe, which has gone down in the history of music under the name “liturgical drama”. Combining theatre to music, the liturgical dramas derived from the Bible, initially revolving around the Passion of Jesus, but expanding gradually to include stories from the Old Testament as well (e.g. Noah’s Ark, Samson and Delilah etc.) Originally, the liturgical drama performances were given in the church, but from 14th to the 16th century, the performances took place outside the church. Such performances were called “mysteries” or “miracles” in the Renaissance. The monophonic chants of the medieval liturgical dramas had Latin lyrics and derived from both secular and church melodies.

The work “Daniel in the Lion’s Den” was composed in 2017 for the 16th Patmos Sacred Music Festival in Patmos, Greece. It is a modern, free adaptation of the homonymous liturgical drama, based on the monophonic melodies that were sung in the Middle Ages, when the drama “Daniel in the Lion’s Den” was performed.

The harmonic elaboration, the accompaniment of the orchestra and the orchestral interludes, with the exception of the choir, are my own free composing choices.

The narrator recites texts in Greek and English, taken from the Old Testament.

The work was recorded live at the premiere on August 30th 2017 at the 16th Patmos Sacred Music Festival - “The Divine Revelation of Music”, at the open-air theatre of the Holy Cave of the Apocalypse. (Alkis Baltas)

Product details

01. Overture and choir : Daniel in the lions’ den [02:42]

02. Orchestra [02:09]

03. Jubilemus regi nostro [02:30]

04. Orchestra : the writing on the wall [01:55]

05. Cum doctorum [03:26]

06. Rex in aeternum vive - (solo mezzo): Ut scribentis noscas ingenium [02:45]

07. Vir propheta Dei Daniel [02:52]

08. Hic verus Dei famulus [03:08]

09. Orchestra (Belshazzar’s death) [01:31]

10. Ecce Rex Darius [03:07]

11. Orchestra (Intermezzo) [01:44]

12. Alle psallite cum luya [01:02]

13. Daniel is praying (solo baritone) : Kyrie eleison [04:13]

14. Rex in aeternum vive - Decreverunt in tua curia [03:31]

15. Orchestra (God sent an Angel) [02:38]

16. Angelicum solita (solo tenor) [01:36]

17. Daniel educite [04:56]

18. Congaudentes celebremus [03:50]

19. Astra tenendi - Alleluia [02:53]

Total time: [52:39]