Commentary Par XII 22-25

Dante seemingly intuits the extraordinary effect made by large modern-day symphony orchestras when called upon to modulate huge sound suddenly into silence.  If the reader imagines Beethoven as the background music to this scene, perhaps he or she will better experience what is projected by these verses.  Of course, the miraculous sound has not so much to do with extraordinary musical abilities as it does with the result of living in God's grace, in which all is harmonious, even sudden silence.