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In The Divine Comedy, Dante describes a path of compassionate revelation that culminates in an Earthly Paradise where deepest longings are answered. Dante weaves together Greek myth, Italian history, and Western legends into a map that charts this human journey. Numina Center for Spirituality and the Arts is happy to present an evening of music and story that guides us through Dante’s poetic landscape.
The evening begins with a talk by cultural historian Kayleen Asbo on The Divine Comedy, illustrated with artwork by Botticelli, Doré, Dali, and Rossetti. We then embark on a musical version of the journey, drawing from many of the sacred and secular Medieval sources Dante mentions in his poem. Musical sources range from Hildegard von Bingen and Francesco Landini to the troubadours, the original Carmina Burana, Cantigas de Santa Maria, and Italian Lauda. Our narrator and guide is renowned poet and translator Anita Barrows, speaking in Italian and English.
The Story & the Art
Kayleen Asbo, cultural historian
The Musical Journey
Vox Flora and Vox Terra
Shira Kammen, vielle, voice, harp
Devi Mathieu, voice
Anita Barrows, narration
Michelle Levy, vielle and voice
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Kayleen Asbo is a professor at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Sonoma State University, and a lecturer for the Osher Life Long Learning Institute at Dominican University, where she teaches courses on myth through art and music. She leads workshops and retreats integrating expressive arts and spiritual practice for individuals, groups, and churches. She also directs Taize Caritas services, including Fourth Friday Taize at Church of the Incarnation in Santa Rosa, CA, sponsored by Numina Center for Spirituality and the Arts.
Anita Barrows, a prize-winning poet and a clinical psychologist, is the author of two books of poetry and a recipient of an NEA grant and the Quarterly Review of Literature's Contemporary Poetry Award. She has been a professional translator for more than twenty years.
Shira Kammen is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist who has spent well over half her life exploring the worlds of early and traditional music. A member for many years of the early music Ensembles Alcatraz and Project Ars Nova, and Medieval Strings, she has also worked with Sequentia, Hesperion XX, the Boston Camerata, the Balkan group Kitka, the Oregon, California and San Francisco Shakespeare Festivals, and is the founder of Class V Music, an ensemble dedicated to performance on river rafting trips. She has performed and taught in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Israel, Morocco, and Japan, and on the Colorado, Rogue, and Klamath Rivers. Visit her at www.shirakammen.com.
Devi Mathieu sings early and contemporary music in the US and Europe and coaches singers of early music. She regularly collaborates with composer and pianist Allaudin Mathieu and with string virtuoso and singer Shira Kammen, and has a special devotinfor the music of Hildegard von Bingen. Devi guides Through the Ear to the Heart, Monday evening gatherings that give singers of all levels the opportunity to sing Hildegard’s music as contemplative practice. These evenings, held at Church of the Incarnation in Santa Rosa, CA, are sponsored by Numina Center for Spirituality and the Arts.
Michelle Levy studied classical viola with Consuelo Sherba and David Rubenstein as well as Old Timey fiddle/banjo with Professor Jeff Titon at Brown University. After receiving the McKasson scholarship to Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddling School, she fell in love with the spontaneity of folk music and began a career focused on accompanying vocalists, improvising, and performing ancient music. For two years she toured nationwide with improvisational world music ensemble Cantiga.
The Vox Flora and Vox Terra medieval vocal ensembles arose from Numina’s vision to celebrate the artistic expression of the human spirit. Co-directed by Shira Kammen and Devi Mathieu, these singers are devoted to the practice of sacred music and offer its fruits for the benefit of all.
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