Respighi: Church Windows; Brazilian Impressions; Belkis Queen of Sheba, Metamorphoseon; Roman Trilogy

$21.99
Label
Chandos
Release Date
May 28, 2013
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      RESPIGHI, OTTORINO
    • ORCHESTRA / ENSEMBLE
      Philharmonia Orchestra
    • PERFORMER
      Simon, Tortelier
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      May 28, 2013
    • UPC
      095115244524
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      CHAN 241-45
    • LABEL
      Chandos
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      2
    • GENRE
      Orchestral & Symphonic
    Works ⌄

    1. I. La fuga in Egitto (The Flight into Egypt)

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Conductor: Geoffrey Simon

    2. II. San Michele Arcangelo (St. Michael Archangel)

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Conductor: Geoffrey Simon

    3. III. Il Mattutino di Santa Chiara (The Matins of St. Clare)

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Conductor: Geoffrey Simon

    4. IV. San Gregorio Magno (St. Gregory the Great)

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Conductor: Geoffrey Simon

    5. Theme: Andante moderato

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Conductor: Geoffrey Simon

    6. Modus I: Moderato non troppo

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Conductor: Geoffrey Simon

    7. Modus II: Allegretto

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Conductor: Geoffrey Simon

    8. Modus III: Lento

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Conductor: Geoffrey Simon

    9. Modus IV: Lento espressivo

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Conductor: Geoffrey Simon

    10. Modus V: Molto vivace

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Conductor: Geoffrey Simon

    11. Modus VI: Vivo

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Conductor: Geoffrey Simon

    12. Modus VII: Cadenza

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Conductor: Geoffrey Simon

    13. Modus VIII: Andantino mosso

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Conductor: Geoffrey Simon

    14. Modus IX: Lento non troppo

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Conductor: Geoffrey Simon

    15. Modus X: Molto allegro

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Conductor: Geoffrey Simon

    16. Modus XI: Molto allegro

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Conductor: Geoffrey Simon

    17. Modus XII: Vivo non troppo

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Conductor: Geoffrey Simon

    18. I. Circenses

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Performer: Leslie Pearson

      Conductor: Yan Pascal Tortelier

    19. II. Il Giubileo

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Performer: Leslie Pearson

      Conductor: Yan Pascal Tortelier

    20. III. L'Ottobrata

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Performer: Leslie Pearson

      Conductor: Yan Pascal Tortelier

    21. IV. La Befana

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Performer: Leslie Pearson

      Conductor: Yan Pascal Tortelier

    22. I. La fontana di Valle all'alba

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Performer: Leslie Pearson

      Conductor: Yan Pascal Tortelier

    23. II. La fontana del Tritone al mattino

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Performer: Leslie Pearson

      Conductor: Yan Pascal Tortelier

    24. II. La fontana di Trevi al meriggio

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Performer: Leslie Pearson

      Conductor: Yan Pascal Tortelier

    25. IV. La fontana di Villa Medici al tramonto

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Performer: Leslie Pearson

      Conductor: Yan Pascal Tortelier

    26. I. I pini di Villa Borghese (The Pines of the Villa Borghese)

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Performer: Leslie Pearson

      Conductor: Yan Pascal Tortelier

    27. II. Pini presso una catacomba (Pines Near a Catacomb)

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Performer: Leslie Pearson

      Conductor: Yan Pascal Tortelier

    28. III. I pini del Gianicolo (The Pines of the Janiculum)

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Performer: Leslie Pearson

      Conductor: Yan Pascal Tortelier

    29. IV. I pini della via Appia (The Pines of the Appian Way)

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Performer: Leslie Pearson

      Conductor: Yan Pascal Tortelier

    30. I. Il Sogno di Salomone (The Dream of Solomon)

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Conductor: Geoffrey Simon

    31. II. Danza guerresca (War Dance)

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Conductor: Geoffrey Simon

    32. III. La Danza di Belkis all'aurora (The Dance of Belkis at Dawn)

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Conductor: Geoffrey Simon

    33. IV. Danza orgiastica (Orgiastic Dance)

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Conductor: Geoffrey Simon

    34. No. 1. Notte Tropicale (Tropical Night)

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Conductor: Geoffrey Simon

    35. No. 2. Butantan (In a snake-garden near Sao Paulo)

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Conductor: Geoffrey Simon

    36. No. 3. Canzone e Danza (Song and Dance)

      Composer: Ottorino Respighi

      Ensemble: Philharmonia Orchestra

      Conductor: Geoffrey Simon


The ‘Roman Trilogy’ is among Respighi’s best-known and best-loved works. Fountains of Rome and Pines of Rome are comprised of four distinct sections, each again depicting a particular fountain, or pine grove, in Rome, at a particular time of day. The final chapter in the trilogy, Roman Festivals, is inspired by, as the title suggests, four Rome-based festivals.

Respighi based his Church Windows on Three Piano Preludes on Gregorian Melodies. The preludes were published in 1922, and orchestrated three years later, Respighi adding one further movement, making it a four-piece symphonic suite. Each of the individual movements was given an appropriate sub-heading, illustrating a biblical or religious scene that might have appeared in actual stained-glass windows. The first movement, for instance, is slow and stately, its constant forward moving accompaniment suggesting ‘the passing of a chariot beneath a brilliant and starry sky’, hence the name ‘The Flight into Egypt’.

Brazilian Impressions took its inspiration from the composer’s colourful and vibrant memories of a trip to South America. The opening movement is a deeply atmospheric nocturne, depicting dance rhythms and folksongs heard in the distance on a warm, tropical Brazilian evening. A less pleasant memory perhaps is recalled in the second movement, namely a visit to the Butantan Reptile Institute, the sliding movements and angry whirring of the rattle-snakes perfectly depicted in the music.

The ballet score for Belkis, Queen of Sheba evokes the wondrous journey undertaken in the year 1000 B.C. by Belkis, the Queen of Sheba, in response to an imperial message from Solomon, the King of Israel. The full eighty-minute ballet required an enormous orchestra including such unconventional instruments as sitars and wind machines, a chorus and vocal soloists, and a narrator to relate the story in verse. Two years after completing the ballet score, Respighi extracted a purely orchestral suite, which is recorded here.

Metamorphoseon, commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1930, consists of twelve variations, or ‘modes’. The day after the work’s premiere performance, The Boston Traveller wrote: ‘...a colossal achievement... His is a rare genius for melody, an absolute technical command and above all, brilliant orchestration.’

Review:

Sumptuous, meaty performances, featuring Tortelier's vigorous Roman trilogy. The Philharmonia's rich sonorities enjoy a spacious Chandos recording.

– BBC Music Magazine