Dante's Journey to Polyphony

"Although Dante's Commedia has inspired a number of musical compositions, such as Tchaikovsky's symphonic poem Francesca Da Rimini and Rachmaninov's opera by the same name, and various syncretic studies on these works, until now there has not been a study that addresses the actual underlying musical framework of Dante's poem. In Dante's Journey to Polyphony, Francesco Ciabattoni examines the role of the musical performances in the Commedia and, more specifically, how the presentation of sacred music unfolds throughout the entire poem and constitutes a structural pillar of the narrative discourse. Thoroughly grounded in musicological and philological scholarship, Dance's Journey to Polyphony provides the first organic treatment of the theme of Dante and music. Moving from the philosophical foundations of music and from a study of the diffusion of polyphony in Tuscany during Dante's day, Ciabattoni outlines the intricate musical design in the texture of the poem. An analysis of the musical passages in the Commedia shows that, from infernal cacophony, through purgatorial monophony, to paradisiacal polyphony, sacred songs constitute a thoroughly planned system accompanying the pilgrim's itinerary. Far from being a mere decorative element, Ciabattoni argues, music in the Commedia can be regarded as a necessary complement to the great liturgy of the sacred poem."--Jacket.