Motets à deux dessus et basse continue, vol. 1
Daniel Daniélis (1635–1696), a composer born in Liège, served 15 years at the court of Duke Gustave Adolf von Mecklenburg-Güstrow before entering the competition to become sous-maître of the Chapelle of Louis XIV in 1683. Unsuccessful, he became director of music at Vannes Cathedral, a position he held until his death. Of the many works he composed, including secular ones, only motets have survived.
These set to music some fine anonymous Latin poems. Of great spirituality and musicality, comparable to Couperin’s Leçons de ténèbres, the voices move together, accompanied only by basso continuo, in sombre keys. The vocal range is not very wide, requiring more style than technique.