Sanctus - Paradise 7 & 8 / Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri (1320)

Madrid  • 

This is the "Sanctus", another chant that Dante hears in Paradise of his Divina Commedia. Just like the Te Deum, the music is a Medieval plainchant melody + two voices I added according to the rules of improvised organum around 1300. What you hear could open a window to what it really may have sounded like in Dante's mind. Throughout the Divine Comedy, the Sanctus appears in different places and manners. In Paradise 7 (Mercury) an alternative version is sung by Justinian. In Paradise 8 (Venus) all the souls sing the word Hosanna - which could be a Hosanna or the last part of the Sanctus. The Sanctus returns in Paradise 26.69, where all sing "Santo, santo, santo!" at Dante's regained eyesight. It has thus been included in the Paradise of my soloperformance "Incipit", representing both Mercury and Venus.