Ottorino Respighi (ott-o-REE-no    reh-SPEE-gee) (hard ‘g’ sound)

Born July 9, 1879 in Bologna, Italy

Died April 18, 1936

Nationality: Italian

Period/Style: Early Modern

About the composer:

Respighi loved the Oldies.  We’re talking about music written two or more centuries before his lifetime.  He was fascinated with the music written during the Medieval and Renaissance periods, 200 years or more before he was born.  He used many of the dances and other music from those periods to inspire him as he wrote music. He wrote three suites of dances from the 16^th and 17^th centuries, orchestrated in his own unique way.  Respighi is known as a composer with a special talent for orchestration: knowing how to take a piece of music, perhaps written hundreds of years before, and rewrite it for a large orchestra, choosing just the right instruments for each part to give it the “color” he had in mind. He wrote several tone poems for large orchestra, the most famous of which is the one we’re going to hear today: The Pines of Rome.

About the music:

The Pines of Rome (approx. 20 min)

As the music begins, imagine children at play, noisy and full of energy. Next we find ourselves in a catacomb and the music suddenly becomes very dark and foreboding.  In this section we hear an ancient plainsong melody. Then there is a night song called a “nocturne” and we hear a nightingale singing. Then it’s morning on the Appian Way, and we hear an army approaching in the distance, the music growing louder and louder as they come nearer. The work has a triumphant ending, very loud with full orchestra and lots of brass instruments. There are segues between the different sections or movements. That means there is no break between them; one movement carries over to the next.

Suggested activities:

Find out what “crescendo” means and how it applies to this music.

Where is the Appian Way?

What is a catacomb?

In what parts of the world would we find a nightingale?