© Zani-Casadio
Dante Vespers
Deh peregrini che pensosi andate
The Poet retold by Giovanni Boccaccio and music of 14th-century Italy
Ensemble Palamento
Clara Fanticini vielle
Francesco Gibellini portative organ and citole
Flavio Spotti historic percussions
Gabriele Parrillo narrator
This evocative journey through Dante’s life, first narrated in Boccaccio’s precious and controversial biography, traces an imaginary ascent from the Poet’s Florentine hell to the purgatory of his exile and then the paradise he found in Ravenna. A suitable soundtrack of Italian Trecento music from the London Manuscript, dating back to the late XIV century (like Boccaccio’s text), will guide us through the sounds of that distant yet vibrant world, in a historically-informed performance using faithfully reconstructed medieval instruments. The vielle, the portative organ, the citole and percussions, together with Boccaccio’s words and the Supreme Poet’s verses, will act as a seal of authenticity for the literary and musical codes of the time.
