Francesco Ciabattoni, Georgetown University - Dante's Musical Journey in the Divine Comedy. Dante’s Divine Comedy is filled with music, from the cacophonous wails of the damned to the joyous hymns of the blessed. The Purgatory is particularly rich with psalm singing and liturgical choruses, often described in fascinatingly realistic detail: through painful sobs and sighs as they undergo physical toil, the penitents must learn to sing in unisonal accordance. Prof. Ciabattoni’s talk will reveal the historical, theological and literary underpinnings of the powerful soundscape of Hell, Purgatory and Paradise, following Dante Alighieri’s scale all the way up to the music of the spheres.
