Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.

Lyrics in Italian:

Per me si va ne la città dolente, per me si va ne l’etterno dolore, per me si va tra la perduta gente.

Giustizia mosse il mio alto fattore: fecemi la divina podestate,
la somma sapienza e’l primo amore.

Dinanzi a me non fuor cose create
se non etterne, e io etterno duro. Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch’intrate.

English translation:

Through me you pass into the city of woe: Through me you pass into eternal pain: Through me among the people lost for aye.

Justice the founder of my fabric mov’d: To rear me was the task of power divine, Supremest wisdom, and primeval love.

Before me things create were none, save things Eternal, and eternal I endure.
‘All hope abandon ye who enter here.’

“La porta dell’inferno, Op. 36” (地獄の門) is named after the Gates of Hell in Dante’s Inferno. The lyrics are in Italian, selected from Canto III, Inferno. These are the exact words engraved on the Gates of Hell as Dante reads.

The piece begins with the imaginary protagonist approaching the Gates of Hell, with variations of the “Dies Irae” theme. Then the soprano personifies the Gates of Hell as she sings the words on the gates like a divine voice. In the first section, the protagonist is presented with the sufferings in Hell, while the soprano repeats “Giustizia” (Justice!). The middle section is God giving the protagonist a last chance to leave before entering Hell, but the protagonist is resolute and continues to walk towards the gates. The last section recapitulates, and in coda the Gates of Hell open with the dissonant hammering by the pianist, like the movement of giant monsters or ancient creatures. Harmony and beauty of music cease to exist beyond the Gates of Hell. It is a completely different world down there, where fire engulfs the piece eventually.