Dante Songs (2024)

song cycle for baritone and piano

Program Notes

My Dante Songs cycle was conceived both as a companion to my first chamber opera Zita di Lucca, and as an opener for Dante e la Donna, a concert of some of my Italian-language compositions from 2011 to present. In his Inferno (Canto XXI), Dante mentions Zita of Lucca (ca. 1212-1272) as “Santa Zita” some 400 years before her canonization to sainthood. Thus Zita di Lucca features an original libretto written in the “style” of Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), reflective mainly of the Tuscan dialect and vocabulary of Dante’s era, and found in Dante’s literary works.

The four poems that I chose from Dante’s Rime each communicate a profound love for una donna. This love culminates in the final poem: Di donne io vidi una gentile schiera. Here Dante’s praise for this woman is extraordinary and highly reminiscent of how he treats his beloved Beatrice throughout his Divina Commedia. Because of the degree to which he praises this donna for her goodness, her countenance, and her generosity of spirit, I saw in this poem an opportunity to foreshadow the protagonist of Zita di Lucca. The fourth song in fact quotes an aria from the opera in which Zita reveals her virtuous character and selfless disposition towards those around her. –DK