StraborDante: XYQuartet & John De Leo

On the occasion of the VII centenary celebrations in 2021 for Dante Alighieri’s death, StraborDante is born: a musical journey between jazz, rock and noise, in which the imaginary of Dante’s Inferno comes to life in a multimedia show. Original songs and rearrangements of thirteenth-fourteenth-century compositions by the XYQuartet , talk through the unique voice of John De Leo and the images created by the artist Francesco Lopergolo.

During the nine different stages of the StraborDante’s journey, meetings, dialogues, awesomeness, allegories and the extraordinary inventions that populate the most evocative Canto of the Divine Comedy come definitely to life.

To give life to the rich imaginary of Inferno is the sound of XYQuartet, a prominent ensemble of the Italian and European jazz scene: Nicola Fazzini (alto sax), Alessandro Fedrigo (electric bass), Saverio Tasca (vibraphone) and Luca Colussi (drums). Nicola Fazzini and Alessandro Fedrigo are the music composers : 4 original tracks – Oscura (N. Fazzini). Limbo (A. Fedrigo), Pozzo del Gigante (N. Fazzini), Canto Invisibile (A. Fedrigo) which describe the places between the circles of Inferno. To this we add the work of arrangiament of 4 medieval compositions taken from il Laudario di Cortona, musical code of the XIII century, works of Marchetto da Padova, author of songs and motets like Ave regina coelorum/Mater innocenccie (Marchetto da Padova)- rearranged in a duplicate Version of Ave Corpus Sanctum (Marchetto da Padova), Peccatrice Nominata (Laudario di Cortona AAVV) and Piangiamo del crudel basciar (Laudario di Cortona AAVV) and considered one of the first representatives of Ars Nova in Italy.

The interpretation of the texts and of the original dramaturgy of Vincenzo De Vivo, is performed by John De Leo: an eclectic and versatile artist, one of the most interesting voices among with his extraordinary stage presence in the Italian music scene of the last decade. His voice-instrument , at times warm, acute, scratchy,and deeply felt is perfectly able to interpret the multiple shades of the composition, from singing to acting.

A remarkable interpretation that, together with the electronic live by to Franco Naddei , gives words and dialogues back to the famous characters like Virgilio, Paolo and Francesca, Pier Delle Vigne, Ulisse, Count Ugolino encountered during the journey from the dark forest to the heart of the underworld.

StraborDante borders on the visual performance thanks to the images that take shape with multi visions by the artist Francesco Lopergolo. The musicians are completely absorbed in settings, appearances, visual allegories, achieved by the alteration of the images and the re-elaborated version of the shooting at Grotte del Caglieron , in the region of Montello (Fregona TV).

The intrinsic bond between music, acoustics, poetry and image examined by the same father of the Italian language with StraborDante is not only an artistic action but more a philological reconstruction aimed to led poetry to its most authentic origin back, to a time when the relationship with music was much closer, in an almost symbiotic way.

By “Overflowing” and turning the borders between theatrical pièce, concert, and the historical and linguistic boundaries upside-down, the show leads us right into the Word and Dante’s vision, returning it with all the dynamism and newness of the extraordinary immortal Work, that is still able to convey its greatness.

The project has been promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the International Cooperation – General Management for the Country System Promotion – within the project “Vivere all’italiana in musica”.