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We suggest five works to explore after Respighi’s Botticelli Triptych
Evocations by Respighi of early Italian culture were more often in the form of arrangements of early lute pieces and the like. So his revisiting of the atmosphere conjured in ‘Adoration of the Magi’ is surprisingly rare in his work, but surfaces unmistakably in his sole venture into sacred music, Lauda per la Natività del Signore, which includes pastoral woodwind and echoes of Gregorian chant. (Soloists; Rundfunkchor Berlin, Polyphonia Ensemble Berlin/maris Sirmais Carus CAR83473).
Remarkably close to Respighi’s style is fellow Italian Castelnuovo-tedesco’s tribute to another Renaissance master. His overtures to various Shakespeare plays, most particularly A Midsummer Night’s Dream (with Antony and Cleopatra and Twelfth Night good follow ups), are clearly indebted to Respighi’s example with their florid high woodwind writing, singing string lines and brooding oboe melodies. (West Australian Symphony Orchestra/andrew Penny
Naxos 8.572500).
Pastoral reed instrument plus string colours are also a winning combination in the Oboe Concerto by Respighi’s slightly older English contemporary,
Vaughan Williams. A master of atmospheric string writing, he makes the strings both reflective and lively partners to their soloist. (Nicholas
Daniel (oboe); Britten Sinfonia Harmonia Mundi HMU 807573).
For something of the more luscious side – a touch of Venus – try Ibert’s Escales, composed during the Prix de Rome-winning French composer’s residency in that city. Offering three ‘musical postcards’ depicting delightful destinations around the Mediterranean – Palermo, Tunis and Nefta – this orchestral suite also includes, as
Ibert himself said, something of the ‘swells of the sea’. (Sinfonia of London/ John Wilson Chandos CHSA 5252).
Finally, for another 20th century take on the ancient Gregorian chant used by Respighi, try James Macmillan’s Veni, Veni Emmanuel. Largely an invigorating workout, originally written to showcase the brilliant percussionist Evelyn Glennie, this perhaps comes closest to Respighi in atmosphere with its meditative section ‘Gaude, Gaude’, in which woodwind and high strings echo fragments of the plainchant. (Evelyn Glennie; Scottish Chamber Orchestra/jukkapekka Saraste Catalyst 82876642852).
Ibert’s Escales o ers three delightful destinations around the Mediterranean