deFilharmonie, Collegium Vocale Gent, Philippe Herreweghe

When operatic composers turn their minds to church music, the results tend to be dramatic. Philippe Herreweghe explores the beautiful "religious pieces" that the anticlerical Verdi wrote towards the end of his life. Liszt's spectacular Dante Symphony also shows the influence of Italian opera, as the orchestra undertakes a terrifying journey from Hell to the gates of Paradise.