Uploaded August 2009 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
Respighi, who proved with his Roman triad that he was a man who composed well in the form of tone or symphonic poem, was out of character in writing his "Vetrate di chiesa" ("Church Windows"); the subtitle, "Four Symphonic Impressions", was odd as these were not "impressions" at all.
Respighi composed three pieces for piano while vacationing with his wife in Capri in 1919. The three piano pieces were titled "Tre preludi sopra melodie gregoriane (Three Preludes on Gregorian Melodies)".
Respighi revisited the pieces and transcribed them for large orchestra, adding a fourth piece in order to make the symphonic suite complete. The names of the pieces came long after, based upon the feel of the pieces. Respighi and his close friend, librettist and literature professor, Claudio Guastalla, worked together to provide titles that would tie each of the pieces to stained glass windows of churches in Italy; they went so far as to provide scriptural references or libretto-like religious texts to accompany the pieces.
But this was all done after the pieces were written...
Presented here is "Il Mattutino di Santa Chiara" ("The Matins of Saint Clare"), a tribute to the founder of the 'Order of Poor Ladies', an order for nuns in the Franciscan tradition of the Catholic Church. This piece tells of how Clare of Assisi was, according to legend and Claudio Guastalla's libretto-like description, "miraculously borne by the angels from her sick-bed to the church of Saint Francis in order to be present at the service of Matins". The orchestration's use of bells and celeste lend beautifully to the monastic feel of the piece.
The piece is performed here by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, led by Jesus Lopez-Cobos, a wonderful interpreter of Respighi's works, in my humble opinion.
Enjoy!
Respighi, who proved with his Roman triad that he was a man who composed well in the form of tone or symphonic poem, was out of character in writing his "Vetrate di chiesa" ("Church Windows"); the subtitle, "Four Symphonic Impressions", was odd as these were not "impressions" at all.
Respighi composed three pieces for piano while vacationing with his wife in Capri in 1919. The three piano pieces were titled "Tre preludi sopra melodie gregoriane (Three Preludes on Gregorian Melodies)".
Respighi revisited the pieces and transcribed them for large orchestra, adding a fourth piece in order to make the symphonic suite complete. The names of the pieces came long after, based upon the feel of the pieces. Respighi and his close friend, librettist and literature professor, Claudio Guastalla, worked together to provide titles that would tie each of the pieces to stained glass windows of churches in Italy; they went so far as to provide scriptural references or libretto-like religious texts to accompany the pieces.
But this was all done after the pieces were written...
Presented here is "Il Mattutino di Santa Chiara" ("The Matins of Saint Clare"), a tribute to the founder of the 'Order of Poor Ladies', an order for nuns in the Franciscan tradition of the Catholic Church. This piece tells of how Clare of Assisi was, according to legend and Claudio Guastalla's libretto-like description, "miraculously borne by the angels from her sick-bed to the church of Saint Francis in order to be present at the service of Matins". The orchestration's use of bells and celeste lend beautifully to the monastic feel of the piece.
The piece is performed here by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, led by Jesus Lopez-Cobos, a wonderful interpreter of Respighi's works, in my humble opinion.
Enjoy!
