Dante Today
Citings & Sightings of Dante's Works in Contemporary and Popular Culture
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Charles Wuorinen, "The Dante Trilogy" (1993-1996)
The Group for Contemporary Music, Oliver Knussen, conductor
"In his long composing life, Charles Wuorinen has drawn on an extremely wide range of intellectual and musical inspirations, including many from science and literature. The Dante Trilogy is among his most ambitious compositions, its source one of the great works of the Western intellectual canon. The three ballets each correspond to one of the books of Dante's Divina Commedia: The Mission of Virgil to Inferno, The Great Procession to Purgatorio, and The River of Light to Paradiso; although rather than attempting to mirror the whole of Dante's narrative, Wuorinen's music relates to the detail and atmosphere of the books."
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra New Works (2012)
"Deviating from a repertory angle, but not necessarily from a historical one, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra presents two new works from within its ranks. "God's Trombones," by the trombonist Chris Crenshaw, draws inspiration from the identically titled book of free verse sermons, by James Weldon Johnson, published in 1927. And "Inferno," by the saxophonist Sherman Irby, builds on the familiar theme by Dante, with music performed in collaboration with HopeBoykinDance."
The New York Times, May, 10, 2012
M. Ward and Dante
"...In a telephone interview during the South by Southwest music festival Mr. Ward described music as a puzzle he'd been working on since his youth in a Los Angeles suburb. He spoke about his desire to balance dark moods and joyous elements in his music, about his love for Dante and Marvin Gaye, and about how delving into pop music history has become vital to his songwriting..."
James C. McKinley Jr. The New York Times, April 1, 2012
Kevin Gordon
There may be other singer-songwriters in Nashville who would start their day just so, but then, perhaps not. "This morning found me up at 6 to feed the dogs, then back in bed, where I read a little more of Dante's Inferno," begins one blog post by Kevin Gordon, who has a master's in poetry from the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop and a musical sensibility that's part Muddy Waters and part Carl Perkins. "It has a cooling effect. (The further in I get, the more it resembles life here on earth; Virgil leads Dante up Gallatin Road on a hot July evening)." [...]
Peter Applebome, The New York Times, February 21, 2012
Roger Marsh, "Il Cor Tristo" (2008)
From the Programme Notes:
I Il Cor Tristo
II Ne l'eterno rezzo
III Ugolino
"In 1996-98 I was the producer for an audio-book version of Dante's Divine Comedy, in a new English translation by Benedict Flynn. The reader was Heathcote Williams, and when we came to record Canto 33 of Inferno, I found myself transported by the power and emotion of his reading. It occurred to me that afternoon, that one day I would like to make a musical setting of these verses.
"The opportunity to realise this project came last year, when the Hilliard Ensemble invited me to compose something for them, and this was the project I proposed to them. Ugolino's monologue in Canto 33 is remarkable within the context of the Divine Comedy, in that it is the only time we are given a full account of a personal story: elsewhere we are given snippets or allusions, but Dante does not make time to re-iterate tales he believes we should know already. In this case, the scenario clearly took hold of his imagination: a traitor imprisoned with his entire family, and eventually condemned to starve to death together in their sealed tower. Dante has Ugolino tell his own story simply, calmly and in pathetic detail.
"I have begun the drama as Dante first encounters the frozen lake which lies at the bottom of the pit of Hell, cutting a few lines from time to time en route to Ugolino's story, which I have set complete. My primary concern has been to keep Dante's words clear at all times, and thus you will find in this 'contemporary' music many devices more usually encountered in music of much earlier times.I hope that I have been able to do this without wasting the incredible talents of the Hilliard Ensemble. The challenge for them is less in the notes they have to sing, than in the large number of words which I ask them to enunciate with expression, but also with maximum clarity. And that is my suggestion to you: that you do not close your eyes and let the sound of the music drift over you, but that you accompany Dante on this section of his journey, line by line."
Roger Marsh, 2008
Milla Jovovich, "The Divine Comedy" (1994)
"The artist's name is Milla Jovovich, the high-profile actress who starred in movies like Dazed and Confused, The Fifth Element, and in all of the Resident Evil films thus far. Early in her life, as young as 11 years of age, Milla became a model. In time, she found a foothold in film and TV with significant roles in Two Moon Junction (1988) and Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991). As early as 1988, SBK Records signed the young singer-songwriter on the strength of some demos. For several years, she worked and crafted the album that would eventually be released in April of 1994.
"The Divine Comedy was a proud effort by Jovovich, who resolutely guarded and shaped her emergence as a singer. She personally hyped her pre-release album as "a mix between Kate Bush, Sinead O'Connor, This Mortal Coil, and The Cocteau Twins." To help move the album along, the label released a free sampler disc (I still have mine) which featured the wonderful single "Gentleman Who Fell."
"Largely acoustic and immensely charming, "Gentleman Who Fell" was a minor alternative rock hit. The problem was that it wasn't enough to carry the album as far as the album should have gone. After the simple success of "Gentleman Who Fell", the album, and its subsequent single attempts ("Bang Your Head," "It's Your Life") barely registered despite very positive reviews.
"The Divine Comedy, released by an artist who would go on to make very successful films, became another part of an expansive portfolio of work that Milla Jovovich is likely quite proud of. Known as Milla for the album, the singer went on tour as support to Toad The Wet Sprocket and Crash Test Dummies, for a total of 50 shows. During this brief period, Milla Jovovich was serious about The Divine Comedy's chance for success." [...]
Matt Rowe, The Morton Report, 13 July 2011
yelworC: Trinity and Icolation
German band yelworC's recent work finds its roots in the Divine Comedy. Trinity (2004) and Icolation (2007) were inspired by Dante's Inferno and Purgatory, respectively, and a third CD, tentatively titled "Any Heaven?" is to follow.
www.yelworc.de
Rage Against the Machine, "Roll Right" (Evil Empire, 1996)
Lick off the shot my stories shock ya like Ellison
Main line adrenaline Gaza to Tienanmen
From the basement I'm dwellin' in
I cock back tha sling to stone a settler
And breaks him off clean, call me the upsetter
Here comes the hands on the leashes
The cross, the capital, the pale families, the fear and the mouthpieces
The single sista lynch
The cell doors crash
And the master's drums echo, echo, echo, echo, echo, echo
Roll right! Roll call!
But now we're alright, we're all calm!
Roll right! Roll call!
And now we're alright, we're all calm!
This hits like fists bomb with the left and don't miss
With the sickest stilo I spark fear like pigs in the park
Head crack, I hijack the papers
The vapors caught fire up in your mind
Come back rewind one time
Here comes the hands on the leashes
The cross, the capital, the pale families, the fear and the mouthpieces
The single sista lynch
The cell doors crash
And the master's drums echo, echo, echo, echo, echo, echo
Roll right! Roll call!
But now we're alright, we're all calm!
Roll right! Roll call!
We gotta take 'em to tha seventh level
We gotta take 'em to tha seventh level
For their lives and my lives were never settled
Come on, don't freeze when zero hour comes
Come on, come on, don't freeze when zero hour comes
Come on
Send 'em to tha seventh level!
Send 'em to tha seventh level!
Send 'em to tha seventh level!
Send 'em to tha seventh level!
For their lives and my lives were never settled
As the Poets Affirm
"As The Poets Affirm (As The Poets Affirm) was born out of a group of independent musicians in 2001 in Ottawa, Canada. What started as a three-piece acoustic project, eventually turned into an eclectic seven-member lineup experimenting with jazz, classical and electronica. Their name is taken from a line in Dante's Inferno." (Inf. XXIX.63)
V.A., Musea/Colossus Project: "Dante's Divine Comedy" Parts I, II, III (2009-2010)
"Musea's collaboration with Finnish Colossus Society has been fruitful in these last years, and the newest release is the most ambitious so far: a 4 cd set, with a comprehensive booklet, featuring 34 bands to address the 34 cantos of the "Inferno" part of the legendary 14th century epic poem "The Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri (Purgatory and Paradise will be the concept of future releases, in order to complete the trilogy).
With such an amount of bands coming from different grounds within the progressive aesthetics, it is only natural that the conducting line is only maintained by the story and by the usage of vintage instruments (moog, mellotron, etc) which are common to all the guest bands. In part, and besides the fact that this approach secures a wide array of styles and different musical perspectives, it is also true that it makes the album not being as cohesive and focused as the Epic Poem that muses it would deserve. But hey! There are 4hours+ of pure "regressive" symphonic rock to fully enjoy!"
1. Canto 1
(Nuova Era)
2. Canto 2
(Yesterdays)
3. Canto 3
(Little Tragedies)
4. Canto 4
(Lady Lake)
5. Canto 5
(Greenwall)
6. Canto 6
(Nemo)
7. Canto 7
(Nexus)
8. Canto 8
(Atlantis1001)
9. Canto 9
(Trion + Flamborough Head)
10. Canto 10
(Colossus Project)
1. CD-2 Canto 11
(Court)
2. Canto 12
(Willowglass)
3. Canto 13
(Wicked Minds)
4. Canto 14
(Brighteye Brison)
5. Canto 15
(Matthijs Herder)
6. Canto 16
(Garmond)
7. Canto 17
(Ars Nova)
8. Canto 18
(Il Castello Di Atlante)
9. Canto 19
(Groovector)
1. CD-3 Canto 20
(CAP)
2. Canto 21
(Ozone Player)
3. Canto 22
(Ikadus)
4. Canto 23
(Viima)
5. Canto 24
(NotaBene)
6. Canto 25
(Entrance)
7. Canto 26
(Advent)
8. Canto 27
(Contrappunto Project)
1. CD-4 Canto 28
(Armalite)
2. Canto 29
(Corte Aulica)
3. Canto 30
(Raimundo Rodulfo)
4. Canto 31
(De Rossi e Bordini)
5. Canto 32
(Tempano)
6. Canto 33
(Nathan Mahl)
7. Canto 34
(Simon Says)
1. Disc 1 Intro - Dreamscapes 2:20
(Simon Says)
2. Entre deux rives (Canto I) 7:08
(Nemo)
3. The Celestial Pilot (Canto II) 15:36
(Kbridge)
4. Canto III 5:29
(Ozone Player)
5. Acenso tortuoso (Canto IV) 5:39
(Raimundo Rodulfo)
6. X for V (Canto V) 6:30
(Ten Midnight)
7. Polheim 7:06
(Soulengine)
8. The Valley of Kings (Canto VII) 6:01
(Willowglass)
9. Maelstrom (Canto VIII) 6:42
(Atlantis 001)
1. Disc 2 ...e dopo nulla fu piu lo stesso 5:33
(Contrappunto Project)
2. Oh Silly Pride 5:02
(Sophya Baccini)
3. The Scheme Goes On (Canto XI) 8:22
(Nexus)
4. Canto XII 6:39
(Nuova Era)
5. Impressions 9:53
(Survival)
6. Onde vi batte chi tutto discerne 5:51
(Little Tragedies)
7. Muove il vento i miei capelli (Canto XV) 8:02
(Armalice)
8. Strange Cloud (Canto XVI) 7:33
9. The Stream of Hope (Canto XVII) 5:07
(Tommy Eriksson)
1. Disc 3 Luna (Canto XVIII) 7:58
(Entrance)
2. Avarice Atoned (Canto XIX) 7:04
(Maxwell's Demon)
3. The Verse Continues (Canto XX) 5:47
(Rak)
4. Canto XXI 8:33
(Colossus Project)
5. Honey and Locusts 7:15
(Matthis Herder)
6. Is it this the Price for the redemption ? (Canto XXIII) 6:14
(Mad Crayon)
7. A varasz fa alatt (Canto XXIV) 5:55
(Tabula Smaragdina)
8. Purgatorio (Canto XXV) 9:04
(Blank Manuscript)
9. Som de la Scalina (Canto XXVI) 7:02
(Lady Lake)
1. Disc 4 Tee autuuteen (Canto XXVII) 7:36
(Groovector)
2. Matelda's Song (Canto XXVIII) 5:23
(Mist Season)
3. By the Bank of the River (Canto XXIX) 5:40
(Flamborough Head)
4. Feluton 6:03
(Yesterdays)
5. Canto XXXI 6:47
(B612)
6. Juicio Final (Canto XXXII) 8:30
(Equilibrio Vital)
7. Purgatorio (Canto XXXIII) 7:03
(Jinetes Negros)
8. Outro 3:21
(Simon Says)
9. Purgatorio (Bonus Track) 3:25
(Pasini and Ragozza)
1. CD-1 Intro The Celestial Way - Towards The Paradise
(Marco Lo Musico)
2. Canto I
(Little Tragedies)
3. Canto II
(Nuova Era)
4. Quel Mare Al Qual Tutto Si Move
(Greenwall)
5. Longing
(Matthijs Herder)
6. El Secundo Reino
(Nexus)
7. Under Ornens Vingur
(Brighteye Brison)
8. Alexa In The Cage
(The Redzen)
9. Falling Into Bliss
(Tommy Eriksson)
1. CD-2 L'Ultima Acqua
(Posto Blocco 19)
2. Kings Of The Future Past
(Oracle)
3. Del Francescano Sole
(Faveravola)
4. Il Cerchio, La Luce E La Virtu
(Armalite)
5. Houkutja Kuninkaat
(Groovector)
6. Canto XIV
(Roz Vitalis)
7. Dentro La Cerchia Antica
(De Rossi & Bordini)
8. Nel Cerchio Di Luce
(Echoes)
9. Cruz Del Sur
(Jaime Rosas)
1. CD-3 Canto XVIII
(KBridge)
2. The Needle's Eye
(Simon Says)
3. In The Eye Of The Eagle
(Colossus Project)
4. Canto XXI
(Ozone Player)
5. A Li Occhi Belli
(Jinetes Negros)
6. Living Star
(Blank Manuscript)
7. Sans Voix
(Nemo)
8. Static Stars
(Daal)
9. Sacratus
(Matthijs Herder)
1. CD-4 Defending Hands
(Mist Seasons)
2. Canto XXVIII
(Kotebel)
3. Angyal
(Tabula Smaragdina)
4. El Sol De Sus Ojos
(Raimundo Ridykfi)
5. Labyrinth Of Light
(Flamborough Head)
6. Miserere Mei
(Lady Lake)
7. Canto XXXIII
(Yesterdays)
8. Outro - Towards The Stars
(Marco Lo Musico)
9. Conclave Deorum
(Atlantis001)
Loreena McKennitt, "Dante's Prayer" (Book of Secrets, 1997)
When the dark wood fell before me
And all the paths were overgrown
When the priests of pride say there is no other way
I tilled the sorrows of stone
I did not believe because I could not see
Though you came to me in the night
When the dawn seemed forever lost
You showed me your love in the light of the stars
Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me
Then the mountain rose before me
By the deep well of desire
From the fountain of forgiveness
Beyond the ice and the fire
Though we share this humble path, alone
How fragile is the heart
Oh give these clay feet wings to fly
To touch the face of the stars
Breathe life into this feeble heart
Lift this mortal veil of fear
Take these crumbled hopes, etched with tears
We'll rise above these earthly cares
Please remember me
Louis Andriessen, "La Commedia" (2008)
"On Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 8:00 p.m., Andriessen's extraordinary new opera La Commedia (based on Dante's Divine Comedy) makes its New York premiere in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage in a concert performance by the Asko Schoenberg ensemble...
"According to the composer, 'I see Dante's La Commedia as one of the highest points ever reached in literature and philosophy. It combines complexity, intellectualism, horror, beauty, multi-layering, allusions, historical and mythological references, and, above all, irony. I selected sequences of material in the same order as in Dante's book. So the first two scenes take us from the City of Dis down through Inferno to the deepest regions of hell where we meet Lucifer in the third part. This is where Adam's Fall is described. We then pass upward through the lighter-hearted Garden of Earthly Delights until we reach Paradise in the final section, Eternal Light.'
"La Commedia was premiered in June 2008 at the Holland Festival by many of the same musicians performing in the Carnegie Hall presentation..."
Broadway World, March 1, 2010
Contributed by Patrick Molloy
See also, Allan Kozinn, The New York Times, April 1, 2010
Background Image: Domenico di Michelino, Dante and His Comedy, 1465
