An expression of impending doom, “The writing is on the wall” has long seeped into common English usage. The ripping biblical yarn from which it derives concerns the Babylonian king Belshazzar who, at a riotous banquet, drinks from the sacred vessels plundered from the temple in Jerusalem by his forebears. A mysterious hand then appears and writes an indecipherable message which only the prophet Daniel, leader of the captive Jews, can elucidate. No surprise, the king is done for.

Last century, both Walton and Sibelius were inspired by the tale, but the grandest setting of them all is undoubtedly Handel’s 1745 oratorio. This December 2012 recording by William Christie and Les Arts Florissants (which originally launched the ensemble’s own label) is now reissued on Harmonia Mundi and has lost nothing of its superb theatricality in the interim. 

Luxury casting throughout makes this account particularly attractive. Tenor Allan Clayton sings the title role, joined by countertenor Iestyn Davies as Daniel and veteran Handel soprano Rosemary Joshua, as the king’s virtuous mother Nitocris. Australian mezzo-soprano Caitlin Hulcup is the Persian prince Cyrus and New Zealand bass Jonathan Lemalu plays...