Carmina Tripudiorum XII-XIV: Clerical Dance Music

The tradition of dance in church can be traced back to biblical accounts that King David danced before the tabernacle and promised to play and dance before the Lord. In the Middle Ages church dances were widespread in Europe.

Despite attempts to put an end to this tradition, it was so resilient that elements of church dance can still be found today. In the 13th century the genre was at its height and manuscripts from that period contain large numbers of dances, mostly composed by authors of the Notre Dame school.

The Ensemble Labyrinthus presents musical pieces of 12th and 14th centuries directly linked to various church dances.