Angel of Dis
City of Dis created by Heather Andrews. "I find this section of the written piece interesting  - the dynamic between Virgil and Dante is interesting here, where Virgil demonstrates his devotion to Dante's cause, to the point that he shields Dante's eyes with his own hands from Medusa. I also love the part where the heavenly messenger appears with the noise of a hurricane.  "I've attempted to ...
5m Nov 14, 2020
5m
La Città di Dite
City of Dis created by Valerio Orlandini. "I read Canti IX and X multiple times to try to feel what Dante was experiencing when he was there. The walls of the city are like a fire belt around a well-kept secret.  "They are rendered in the composition with the noisy and powerful sections at the beginning and at the end of the track, while in the centre mysterious lower sounds symbolise the sin...
7m Nov 14, 2020
7m
Wood of suicides
Wood of suicides created by Scott Wilson. "In the Wood of Suicides, Dante describes how the souls of those who have died by their own hands are transformed into trees who must endure constant assault whilst in Hell, and cannot fully reunite with their bodies at Judgement Day for having discarded them so willingly.  "This composition mixes manipulated field recordings made at a series of woode...
13m Nov 14, 2020
13m
Canto Eresia Quattordici
Heresy created by Andy Billington. "The track was started by me speaking the word "Heresy" into a simple 8 bit sampler (Bastl Microgranny 2.5). The sample was then trimmed and shaped forming 3 distinct glitch tapestries onto which i layered (via an OP1 synth) heavy drones that sounded like screaming voices. I added a simple refrain with a number of layered church organs cello and harp samples....
11m Nov 14, 2020
11m
Canto Decimo
Heresy created by Clelia Ciardulli. "This 'cerchio', circle, as Dante calls the zones of Hell, inspired me to research the history of heresy, and to try and reach as many as possible recorded executions of individuals under the charge of disagreeing, not accepting, contradicting the dogma of their place and times.   "It turns out to be a mix of catholics in Protestant areas; protestants, prot...
5m Nov 14, 2020
5m
Souls on fire
Phlegethon created by Manja Ristic. "Phlegethon was always one of the most intriguing aspects of Dante's Inferno. The realm of the darkness seeded in the human soul that reflects in extreme actions such as murder, tyranny, and violence fuels the deepest fears we struggle to comprehend or even just to look at. In the process of making the composition, I used field recording of the howling wind ...
5m Nov 14, 2020
5m
Phlegethon
Phlegethon created by Terminal Optimism (Stuart Chapman). "Although aware of Dante's Inferno, I hadn't read it. A bit of research informed me that Phlegethon is a reference to much earlier classical references to hell, and that it's a circular river of fire, with souls submerged at various heights, held there by demons, according to their sins.  "The piece starts off gentle enough, or does it...
11m Nov 14, 2020
11m
Wood of suicides
Wood of suicides created by Simon Woods. "The initial recordings are taken from a local woodland, bird sounds and magpies. These are gradually engulfed by the choir and white noise / wind with tree / hedge cutters joining in. Other sounds include gas hob ignition, match striking, drills and voices.  "All very unpleasant." Part of the Inferno project to imagine and compose the sounds of Dante...
5m Nov 14, 2020
5m
Panderers and seducers
Panderers and seducers created by David Henckel. "I liked the idea of using a combination of field recordings and synthesised sound in this piece. I was inspired by the idea of using seductive sounds layered with harsher sounds - so I guess existing in the seductive moment and hell at the same time.  "I used a variety of shepherd tones (The barber pole of sound - where it seems to be constant...
7m Nov 14, 2020
7m
8C
Panderers and seducers created by Bleep Eater. "8C  stands for the eighth circle. The whole idea of this is very dark and twisted, which really suited my style. It's harmonically rich yet smoothed off resonantly - a hauntingly realistic audio depiction of being there in Hell." Part of the Inferno project to imagine and compose the sounds of Dante’s Hell, marking the 700th anniversary of The D...
2m Nov 14, 2020
2m
Their sins run deep
The great barrier and waterfall created by Jeff Dungfelder. "After Dante takes us through the Vestibule for “undecided” and Agnostics; a place for Virtuous Pagans who lived good lives but weren’t baptized; then four levels of punishment for those whose sins were based on lack of self-control; a separate level for Heretics; and finally a level for those whose sins were violent.  "To get to the...
6m Nov 14, 2020
6m
Where we find ourselves
The great barrier and waterfall created by John Downey. "Given the dark centre stage of US politics, I decided to use only a few tracks and avoid creating a piece that would pile on that mood.  I chose some stock samples as well as two of my own.   "The percussion was an afterthought but I thought it grounds the drifting ambient drones, making this short composition introspective, fitting for...
7m Nov 14, 2020
7m
The Abominable Sand
The Abominable Sand created by Peter Hodgkinson. "Instead of the obvious religious intentions, I was more concerned with the present "violence" against nature. Most of Dante's Inferno is observational I wanted the experience to be immersive.  "The track has a breath or cycle that is clear at the beginning, this is subsumed by intensifying distorted voices and sounds which depict the descent i...
8m Nov 14, 2020
8m
Babel is burning
The Abominable Sand created by The New Cow (Hans Glib, Deiter Banal, Klaus Inane) "A cacophony of cutup recordings of various religious fanatics and extremists makes for the foundation of the piece, overlaid with a distorted breathing and treated recordings of malfunctioning machinery. We took the name of the circle quite literally - and tried to convey the sound of the wretched sufferers writ...
3m Nov 14, 2020
3m
I Am A Moment Illuminating Eternity
Sorcerors created by Thomas Van den Eynde. "I Am A Moment Illuminating Eternity is a short piece for string orchestra. When I was assigned zone 22 of Hell, I found myself in the region of sorcerors, fortune tellers and diviners. By spending their lives trying to foresee the future, they were punished by having "their heads turned backwards on their bodies and to be compelled to walk backwards ...
4m Nov 13, 2020
4m
DIScORD
Sorcerors created by Drew Mulholland. "DIScORD was recorded in one of the DISsecting rooms at the university of Glasgow, I thought that finding the correct atmosphere was important for the taping." Part of the Inferno project to imagine and compose the sounds of Dante’s Hell, marking the 700th anniversary of The Divine Comedy. To find out more, visit http://www.citiesandmemory.com/inferno
3m Nov 13, 2020
3m
Simoniac!
Simoniacs created by John Tenney. "At first, people might think that the ancient sin of simony (buying one's way into religious favour for salvation, or monetary gain) is hopelessly old-fashioned. "But there is still big money - maybe HUGE money - being made in the name of religion. Here, a modern man wants to buy a priesthood, with disastrous (in fact, INFERNAL) results..." Part of the Infe...
3m Nov 13, 2020
3m
The Magus
Simoniacs created by Nikolas Parnell. "The idea of buying and selling holiness caught my attention. They never succeed in the strict sense, but those who commit Simony aren't looking to be brokers of real righteous powers. They're looking to profit off of all the people they fool in the process.  "The burning of feet was mentioned in the text, so I felt like I had to include flame, but be on ...
3m Nov 13, 2020
3m
Ingentes
Flatterers created by Marco Furlanetto. "Flatterers are found in Malebolge, one very unique area in Dante's Inferno: according to the poet, here are among the worst sinners, those who made very bad use of the human highest virtues. Flatterers' words were meant to provide benefits, prestige, but at the same time they were full of lies, without limits in the way they were told. So Dante condemns...
10m Nov 13, 2020
10m
So... funny
Flatterers created by Coxidelic (Tracy Cox). "Reading Canto 18, Flatterers, I was curious why Dante placed this seemingly innocuous act in a lower circle of Hell than murder(!). In the canto, Dante sees people he recognises wading through (and covered in) excrement. Virgil, Dante’s guide, points out a courtesan named Thais scratching herself with filthy nails.  "This is where the inspiration ...
6m Nov 13, 2020
6m
Drive it like you stole it
Thieves created by Bassling.  "My white guilt is on display with appropriated rock and roll, including church-style organ, as well as lyrics reflecting on the role of religion in stealing land and lives from indigenous people." Part of the Inferno project to imagine and compose the sounds of Dante’s Hell, marking the 700th anniversary of The Divine Comedy. To find out more, visit http://www.c...
4m Nov 13, 2020
4m
Eternal combustion
Thieves created by Duncan Speakman. "In the Malebolge of the Inferno, thieves are tormented by reptiles. The bites of the reptiles sometimes cause the thieves to spontaneously combust, only to be regenerated again for further torment. In the spirit of the accused, recordings of reptiles and fires were 'stolen' from various sources then used in convolution processes to manipulate continuously u...
5m Nov 13, 2020
5m
The torment of hypocrisy - Oscar Wilde's voice
Hypocrites created by Giovanna Iorio. "I have used the recording of the voice of Oscar Wilde reading “The Ballad of Reading Goal” and Ergo Phizmiz "The Faust Cycle or, The House of Dr Faustus" (2006-2009) to represent the Hypocrisy and its monstrosity. "The very short introduction of my composition is the voice of Oscar Wilde at a fast speed, it sounds like terrible crows awakening the consci...
2m Nov 13, 2020
2m
Les lettres volées
Thieves created by Flavien Gillié. "Thieves. I looked in my bookshelf for my volume of The Divine Comedy, right next to it I also had a book by Rimbaud, A Season in Hell, I didn't remember having made this thematic classification. "I created this play during the second confinement, from old magnetic tapes, Rimbaud's words as an echo to those of Dante, hell seen from the outside or from the in...
5m Nov 13, 2020
5m
The Autodox
Hypocrites created by Daniel Yap. "In Autodox, the hypocrite hordes of hell chant a verse while they trod upon Caiaphas. Is the chant what it appears to be — cultic gibberish — or does it conceal a deeper truth about how we wind up as hypocrites? "I took Dante's lead on hypocrisy in religion, and made a concept piece based on the scene in his writing. I chose to explore hypocrisy that is unaw...
54s Nov 13, 2020
54s
Barrators (Andy Lyon Imagining)
Barrators created by Andy Lyon. "The Eighth Circle, Fifth Pitch is very dark.  Barrators are pursued by demons with pitchforks and thrown into a river of boiling pitch.   Barrators are corrupt politicians. Often they seem plausible and pleasant on the outside whilst all the while the fraud, contradiction and hypocrisy is bubbling away under the surface. "I've tried to capture these elements i...
11m Nov 13, 2020
11m
Immerso nell’oscurità
Barrators created by ElizaLauren. "Immerso nell’oscurità is essentially an attempt to recreate the barrator’s journey through the eighth circle of hell with sound. The intention was to put the listener in the position of the barrators, as they are exposed to the suffering that the depths of hell beholds. "Comprised of a combination of field recordings, amplified objects, and prepared guitar t...
5m Nov 13, 2020
5m
Allor mi dolsi, e ora mi ridoglio (It pained me then and it feel the pain again now)
Counsellors of fraud created by Matt Chapman Jones & Dai Bowe. "We began with the text itself and trying to recreate ideas and images from it sonically. Our starting point were the fireflies flitting about, also evoking tongues of flame and the deceiving voices of the fraudulent counsellors. We then focussed on the structure of the story of Ulysses being told - the guitars and the spoken text ...
9m Nov 13, 2020
9m
I love you, Odysseus
Counsellors of fraud created by Cristina Marras. "In Italy we devote three years to the study of Dante’s Holy Comedy, but despite of analysis and exegesis, no one remembers Purgatory and Heaven, we all remember Hell.  "Among the many characters encountered in Hell, Odysseus is one of those that I’ve always loved because I very much identified with his spirit of rebellion against rules and his...
5m Nov 13, 2020
5m
Sowers of discord
Sowers of discord created by Audio Obscura. "For the first week I read as much as I could on the particular zone I had chosen, excerpts of the English translation and articles online about the context. I also listened to other musical versions that had interpreted this text. Some of the reading was uncomfortable, parts of Dante's text is racist, Islamophobic and antisemitic by our standards. I...
6m Nov 13, 2020
6m
Sowers of discord
Sowers of discord created by Odette Johnson (Museleon). "In keeping with the theme of Divine Retribution that runs throughout Dante’s Inferno, the sinners in the ninth chasm, the Sowers of Discord, are brutally split and mutilated, just as they split and mutilated aspects of religion, politics, or their fellow citizens. They poison the world with their words and create havoc, division and chao...
6m Nov 13, 2020
6m
Hollow echoes
Falsifiers created by Richard Gadd. "The broad theme of the eighth circle of Hell is fraud. The consequences of which result in the corruption of every social interaction, every identity is a lie, nothing and nobody can be trusted. This has a striking contemporary resonance. "I start the piece with a relatively bucolic soundscape, but there are not only birds but also flies. The bells, so fam...
8m Nov 13, 2020
8m
The Falsifiers
Falsifiers created by Richard Watts.  ""In the tenth and final bolgia are punished those who are falsifiers of various kinds. These sinners are punished with various illnesses. This is as it should be, for sin is a kind of illness or disease. "Dante saw two sinners, each leaning against the other’s back. They were scratching themselves, trying to kill a never-ending itch. Their skin was cover...
5m Nov 13, 2020
5m
The Giants
The Giants created by Xopher.tm. "Natural sounds were recorded around Devils Lake, Oregon manipulated and mixed to simulate the cold and loneliness of Hell." Part of the Inferno project to imagine and compose the sounds of Dante’s Hell, marking the 700th anniversary of The Divine Comedy. To find out more, visit http://www.citiesandmemory.com/inferno
10m Nov 13, 2020
10m
That well dream, again
The Well created by Graeme Rose. "The Well part of The Inferno inspired my piece by allowing the idea of other sounds to drift upwards from the depths of the well. I 'field recorded' sounds of water and other kitchen noises to manipulate into a Hell Well ambient bed, then created an  off-scale for 'musical' decoration. Before deciding to add 'sprinkles' of horror-ish sound FX. "It's trying to...
8m Nov 13, 2020
8m
Permafrost; or, Ice, Ice, Dante
Caina created by Midmight. "To quote the Longfellow translation of Canto 32 (Caïna: Traitors to Kindred), “ ’Tis no enterprise to take in jest, to sketch the bottom of all the universe.” Like Dante, I called on the Muses to help compose “rhymes both rough and stridulous . . . appropriate to the dismal hole” that is the Ninth Circle. I was inspired by Dante’s choice of this hell circle as a pla...
8m Nov 13, 2020
8m
Frost, ice, snow
Caina created by Nigh Infernal. "We tried to really tap into the icy atmosphere of Caina by utilizing vibrating treble tones and wide reverb to evoke a vast, arctic plain.  Listeners will be comforted by the lushness of the sounds but listen for how the chords shift to mimic the ever fickle ice winds." Part of the Inferno project to imagine and compose the sounds of Dante’s Hell, marking the ...
5m Nov 13, 2020
5m
Giants
The Giants created by Jon Nicholls. "The three giants exist in a perpetual stasis, and I felt the piece should be a snapshot of a situation rather than something which evolved dynamically. "The canto opens with a blast on an impossibly loud horn belonging to the first giant, Nimrod; the piece imagines entering the scene the instant after the horn has sounded, leaving only its echoes. "The so...
2m Nov 13, 2020
2m
The Well
The Well created by Thomas Haighton.  "The original source material used to create the sounds was an audio recording of a chunk of ice being thrown into a deep hole - reminding of the well and the field of ice in Dantes inferno.  "The source material is processed in different ways to create a noisy soundscape. The piece sounds ominous and meditative at the same time. The piece gets more disto...
4m Nov 13, 2020
4m
Judecca
Judecca created by Whalthisney. "My inspiration for this music was transforming a simple pastoral impressionist piano music into something a bit hellish by distorting and glitching the whole composition. The deconstructed aural atmosphere of the music has also a resonance with today's world dystopic times." Part of the Inferno project to imagine and compose the sounds of Dante’s Hell, marking...
3m Nov 13, 2020
3m
Judecca
Judecca created by Paul Collins. "The deepest zone of the ninth and final circle of Hell is called Judecca.  Here Satan is painfully encased in an ice of his own, unwitting making. He has three faces, and in each his of three mouths he gnaws on one of history’s three great traitors. In his middle set of jaws, the most nefarious of these criminals is being endlessly chewed and devoured head-fir...
6m Nov 13, 2020
6m
Ptolomea
Ptolomea created by RPLKTR. "The Ninth Circle, Ptolomea - those who betrayed friends or guests. Their souls descend immediately to hell and their living bodies are possessed by demons when they commit these acts. The sinners cannot weep because the tears freeze in their eyes. Their grief has no outlet and turns inward. This increases their agony. "Ptolomea is a section of a frozen river in th...
4m Nov 13, 2020
4m
Ptolomea
Ptolomea created by Peggy Nelson. "Ptolomea is the Third Zone of the Ninth Circle of Hell; those there entombed are "traitors to guests." The Ninth Circle is very near to Satan himself at the center, and is surrounded by a river (some say a lake) of ice.  "Within, you can hear the souls of the damned bemoaning their fate, with only their faces free of the ice that traps them.   "I used sever...
3m Nov 13, 2020
3m
Bragandrice
Antenora created by Robert Rowlands (Auraumua). "Indolent Belaqua, much loved by Beckett, is met in Ante-Purgatory by Dante, and I like to imagine that as an instrument player he sat under his rock with a lute, or guitar. "My research into treasonable music led me to discover that there was a time when women who killed their husbands could be considered to have commited treason;  "Husband-mu...
8m Nov 13, 2020
8m
Antenora
Antenora created by Rafael Valencia. "Walk with me and admire the musk: all those bodies laying there, frozen, suffering, waiting forever.  "Walk with me, I'll show you all these traitors, you'll see how they're languishing, how they'll agonize forever, moaning forever. Their homelands executed them and here you are, the spectator. " Part of the Inferno project to imagine and compose the sou...
13m Nov 13, 2020
13m
Suite: down in this cistern
Traitors to guests created by Joseph Chaves. Down in this cistern employs two sources: Rafael Gamo’s voice reading from the 33rd canto of Dante’s Inferno and a kind of ‘wind’ sound derived from an analogue noise generator. The principle of composition for this piece is, first, to produce the sound of a section of the Canto, and then to loop the voice, working towards ever smaller units of soun...
19m Nov 13, 2020
19m
Antenora Blues
Traitors to country created by Neil Verma. "For this piece I made an experimental audiobook with dialogue structured around bespoke field recordings, foley and archival audio. My inspiration was to create a composition that both vocalized and commented on the text, using one voice to “gnaw” on another, just like the central image of the section in which Count Ugolino gnaws on the head of Archb...
15m Nov 13, 2020
15m
The Freezing Eyes of Hell
Traitors to guests created by Bev Boyd. " In this piece about the 9th circle of hell, Zone 37,  we encounter the terror of the inanimate souls of the underworld, whose grief can only turn inward as the tears freeze in the rims of their eyes.  "Sue, a pensioner in her 70s, describes the pain she suffered when she developed Dry Eye Syndrome and the her frustration at changes to her prescribed m...
4m Nov 13, 2020
4m
The Din
Traitors to kindred created by BMH. "The Din, the din is omnipresent... We wanted to capture the absolute torture of the crimes against kindred. Lake Cocytus is the frozen lake on the lowest circle of hell.  "We wanted to encapsulate the sound of being stuck at the bottom frozen from the neck down in ice with incessant everlasting noise. We generated wind using a Dreadbox Medusa, wrote a poem...
7m Nov 13, 2020
7m
Frozen Core
Traitors to country created by William McKenna. "Besides the original music bed, there are a variety of sounds in this project: found sounds, manipulated sounds and some that are accidental digital glitches. There are also random sounds that I recorded in my journey around the city which I pulled from my own personal archives, i.e., the music-like sounds which appear near the end that may seem...
3m Nov 13, 2020
3m