Songs of Penance and Renewal: Liturgical Chant in Dante’s Purgatorio
with members of the St. Michael’s Schola Cantorum and Dante Reading Group
Monday, March 30, 2026, 7:30 pm
Fr Madden Hall, Carr Hall, University of Toronto, 100 St Joseph St, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The voices of penitent souls united in liturgical chant resound through the soundscape of Dante’s Purgatorio. On the poet-pilgrim’s journey, the discipline of liturgical song recurs as a key facet of the spiritual process of purification and renewal. Through a unique blending of sound, song, word, and image, this performative presentation will offer a devotional, meditative encounter with the musical landscape of Purgatorio, just in time for Holy Week.
Dante very deliberately structured the musical elements throughout the Commedia. In Purgatorio, specific pieces of liturgical chant are integrated into the process of penance and renewal. We are preparing a meditative sequence of music and commentary which will include performances of liturgical chants, together with commentary and quotations from the verse in Italian and English.
Directed by Professor Michael O’Connor, W. J. Bennett Family Chair of Christianity and the Arts, St. Michael’s College, UofT.
