remembered that composition’s birth on
the Island of Capri: “[It] reflects
Respighi’s state of mind at the time: the
joyous wonder of a revelation [his discovery of Gregorian chant] and at the same
time the mystic exultation of profound
religious feeling.”
Respighi essentially re-conceived
these piano preludes for an enormous
orchestra and added a new final movement saluting Pope Gregory the Great
(540 to 604 A.D.), who is traditionally
credited with codifying Gregorian chant
and its use in the Catholic liturgy. However, he only decided after he completed
the score what precisely each movement was about, with advice from his
librettist Claudio Guastalla. Guastalla
wrote the descriptions for each of these
“windows,” which do not exist in any
church, only in the imagination.
The Flight into Egypt: “The little
caravan proceeded through the desert in
the starry night, bearing the Treasure of
the World.” On a slow, irregular rhythm
like the swaying of a camel, this quiet nocturnal music materializes from a haunting melody based on Gregorian chant
in the clarinet. Decorative arabesques in
the woodwinds lend it an exotic MiddleEastern atmosphere.
Saint Michael the Archangel: “And
a great battle was made in the heavens;
Michael and his angels fought with the
dragon and his angels. But these did not
prevail, and there was no more place for
them in Heaven. (Homily XII of St. Gregory)” An immense orchestral whirlwind
summons St. Michael, the warrior angel,
into action. His battle theme, roared
out by trombones, is a transformation
of the gentle chant theme from the first
movement. Yet another transformation
of this melody is played offstage by a solo
trumpet in the more lyrical middle section. But Michael soon returns to triumph
over Satan.
Matins of St. Clare: “But Jesus Christ
her bridegroom, not wishing to leave her
thus disconsolate, had her miracul