Dante's Descent is a large work for brass band and is based on parts of Dante's Inferno. It is a musical sketch of the composer's imagination regarding the first part: Inferno.

The work consists of six scenes in five parts. The first part begins the story with “mi ritrovai per una selva oscura” (“I found myself in a dark forest”), which lays out the musical material of the work, leading quickly to the entry into Hell “Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch'intrate” (“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here”). The second part, “In la palude va c'ha nome Stige” (“There is forming a marsh called the Styx”), is a whimsical waltz with solos in the cornet, trombone, E flat bass, and flugelhorn. The atmosphere becomes more restless in the third movement: “Omai, figliuolo, s'appressa la città c'ha nome Dite.” (“My son, now the city called Dis draws near.”) The ostinato motifs depict the recurring horrors in the city of Hell. The ninth circle of Hell is a very cold place described in the fourth movement “mettine giù, e non ten vegna schifo, dove Cocito la freddura serra.” (“put us, and without aversion, in the depths, where cold and ice keep Cocytus locked.”) A number of doomed souls are given a voice in the solos for trombone and cornet, which eventually leads to a final cadence in which the three-headed Lucifer is depicted in the trombone section. After climbing Lucifer we find ourselves on our way out of Hell in the fifth part “E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle“ (“There we went out, to see the stars again“), where the memories of the journey linger, but are ultimately overcome.

Dante's Descent is in the Great Repertorium for Brass Band Championship Division

Grade: 6
Duration: 17:30

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