Paolo Orlandi: Al sommo d’una porta (mixed choir)

Paolo Orlandi’s Al sommo d’una porta is a powerful and dramatically charged setting of Dante Alighieri’s iconic inscription above the gate of Hell in The Divine Comedy. Drawing on the opening nine verses of Inferno, Canto III, the work confronts the listener with the stark words of the inscription: “Lasciate ogne speranza voi ch’intrate” — “Abandon every hope, who enter here.”

Written for mixed choir (S(S)A(A)T(T)B(B)), Orlandi creates a striking progression of contrasting atmospheres. The opening is slow, free, and lamenting, gradually developing into darker and more mysterious writing before breaking into the sharply articulated, almost diabolical character of “Dinanzi a me non fuor cose create…”. 

The work was awarded First Prize in the 1st International Choral Composition Competition “…a riveder le stelle…” (ANDCI 2021), dedicated to texts by Dante Alighieri.

A compelling choice for mixed choirs seeking dramatic contemporary repertoire, powerful textual expression, and a dark, theatrical interpretation of one of Dante’s most famous passages.