This piece explores The Divine Comedy’s Dante’s epic journey from Earth to Heaven. The Prelude follows the old tradition of praising the Muses (Ancient Greek Gods of Music and Art) before telling a story. It introduces themes for the Muses, Beatrice, and Dante. The Prelude ends with introducing the Trumpet solo Stars theme. Inferno develops the characters’ themes and introduces Virgil’s theme (Dante’s guide). Purgatorio opens with a sad farewell to Virgil. Dante’s and Beatrice’s themes meet and combine as they are lovers and she guides him. Paradiso opens with the return of the Stars theme now fully developed as Dante explores the planets and heavens. Beatrice leaves Dante, and St. Bernard replaces her as his guide (musically represented by the hymn tune: St. Agnes). Dante’s theme returns in the Trumpets as it heroically leads into a dramatic Grand Pause meant to evoke the infiniteness of God. The final bars are a tradition plagal cadence as Dante accepts God and enters Heaven.
A challenging selection for any brass ensemble