Allor sentì parlar

These Italian words, from Dante's Inferno, Canto XXXIV, describe a scene where the Duke hears a sorrowful voice pleading for relief from the tormenting smoke emanating from an infernal fire. The Duke, astonished, halts and asks the shadow if, provided that God prevents the smoke from reaching him, he would object to his state being understood. Jacquet de Berchem sets this dramatic text for SATB choir in a secular madrigal style, typical of the Renaissance. The music would likely reflect the dramatic tension and emotional plea within the text.