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music based on Dante's Divine Comedy

10K views 13 replies 10 participants last post by  joen_cph 
#1 ·
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Just now I'm listening to Sciarrino's Sui poemi concentrici and wondering what other music out there is based on Dante's Divine Comedy.

I know of Liszt's Dante Symphony and Tchaikovsky's Francesca da Rimini.

What else is there? A work of this kind of influence - especially a work of poetry - must have had a lot of great musical expressions!
 
#5 ·
François Bayle and Bernard Parmegiani pooled their considerable resources to create a setting of the Divine Comedy for narrator and electronics with Parmegiani setting the Inferno section and Bayle adapting Purgatory and Paradise. Both work have a lot of narration in French, so those who don't know the language may not get as much out of it, but the electronic sounds are facinating in and of themselves.
 
#8 · (Edited)
I'd like to hear this - is there a recording?

In truth, I've never read the Divine Comedy - I've tried (in English) but the poem seemed so full of references to Italian politics and history that I couldn't follow it very easily, I got through a good part of Inferno but never even broached the other two books. Given that I'm very interested in electronic music, this may be a good way to access the poem.
 
#14 · (Edited)
A few not mentioned hitherto

Paul von Klenau: Symphony no.4, "Dante-Sinfonie" (1913) & "Paolo & Francesca", Symphonic Poem (1913) Still under-recorded, probably due to German connections before and during WWII, this ambitious composer belonged to Berg´s circle.

Rued Langgaard:"The Hell of Dante" for Organ (1951) & "The Fire Chambers/Flammekamrenne" for Piano (1933)

Granados:"Dante", Symphonic Poem (1908)

Poul Ruders:"1st Piano Sonata, Dante" (1970)

+

Felix Glonti:"Symphony no.6, Vita Nova" (1974)

William Wallace:"The Passing of Beatrice", Symphonic Poem no.1 (1892)
 
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