History: While primarily remembered today for his trio of tone poems in praise of Rome's fountains, pines and holidays, a great part of Ottorino Respighi's (1879-1936) career was built upon transcriptions of past music: indeed, his first real success was a version for voice and orchestra of Monteverdi's "Lamento d'Arianna". Beginning with the Suite in G, a tribute to late Baroque styles, and the long-winded Concerto all'antica (1908) and culminating most vividly in the winsome "Gli uccelli" (1928), this attraction to the then virtually unknown world of early music would serve as a constant source of inspiration to the composer and served as a first indication of the coming Renaissance of Monteverdi, Vitali, Pergolesi, Cimarosa and many others (though not all of Respighi's efforts were met with praise: the outrageously inflated adaptation of Monteverdi's "Orfeo" (1934), in which both Respighi and his regular librettist Guastalla introduced drastic changes in the work's substance as well as in its scoring has been condemned as "an opulent vulgarization of Monteverdi's original"). The presented piece comes from a trio of suites entitled "Olden airs and dances", published, correspondingly, in 1917, 1924 and 1932. All three were met with just enthusiasm and received great acclaim in the composer's lifetime. Music: There is little doubt that Respighi's transcriptions are not what one would, in light of recent early music Renaissance readily name "historically accurate", as composers of early music certainly couldn't have intended for their melodies to be performed either by such a large orchestra or in such a, historically speaking, romantic manner. Still, Respighi approaches each theme with the greatest respect, and his caring arrangements are always effective and, quite often, wonderfully exquisite. As for the airs themselves, their origins are often quite dubious: thus, Volume I which is effectively quoted the present upload includes both pieces by identifiable authors (Simone Molinari and Vincenzo Galilei) and anonymous works. The movement that is presented in this case - an understated, gently melancholic villanella - belongs to the latter group. As the musicologist Apel puts it, "the villanella was a Neapolitan rural song, created as a reaction against the refinements of the contemporary madrigal". Indeed, the A section, the villanella proper, is a model of simplicity and restraint, completely cleared of extensive embellishments and consisting almost completely of whole and half notes. Strangely ominous pizzicato chords from the strings, foreshadowing the subsequent melodic material, serve as a prelude to the unadorned principal theme (0:30), stated by the oboe, which is gradually developed over three separate statements with an initial lack of accompaniment overflowing into a number of elegant effects: the harp's gentle arpeggios (an imitation of the lute), brief phrases for the flute (0:48) and hushed lines from the strings (0:56) (the resulting richness of accompaniment with the most modest means is a light nod to one Respighi's main teachers, Rimsky-Korsakov). Though possibly meant to be a serenade, the villanella is disconcertingly tragic, its gentle rustic character only highlighting the growing feeling of desperation. The B section is, in stark contrast to the introverted passion of the andante, a moment of the utmost freshness, a brief memento of a happier time as it were, as the opening sternness gives way to a breezy melody of gently ornamented lines (2:28), passed between the strings and the flute/harp. However, this interlude is all too brief, as the final bars are resolved by a subtle shift to minor provoked by the return of the oboe. For the repeat of the A section (3:10), a cello replaces the oboe, while the lines of the harp are stated by the piano. In combination with the spare phrases of the strings, the repeat becomes a prototypical piano trio in the style of Tchaikovsky. Respighi also introduces some openly neoromantic touches in the repeat: thus, the pizzicato lines are transported to the center of one of the verses (3:52), effectively interrupting the flow of the music, while in a matter of a few bars a lovely descending cadenza for the strings is introduced (4:32). The closing string coda echoes the main melody, as the piece comes to its dark close. All in all, one of the most disturbing and yet wonderfully moving melodies that I have heard in recent years. Score: The complete score of the presented piece (albeit transcribed for a string ensemble) can be found here (pages 6-10): http://imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/8/86/IMSLP24012-PMLP38826-Respighi-ADA1arrMcAlisterFS.pdf Recording: The 1979 Grammophon recording of the complete cycle of "danze ed arie" presents a quintessentially romantic reading of the work by the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Seiji Ozawa. Hope you'll enjoy =)!