Composed in 1924, Pini di Roma is the second of the trilogy, describing four locations in the city, each of which has historical and cultural significance. Respighi provided in the score a detailed description of this programmatic music:

The Pines of the Villa Borghese (a country estate with enormous grounds belonging to one of Rome’s most notable Renaissance families): “Children playing in what are now public gardens, they mimic marching soldiers and battles, twittering and shrieking like swallows then they swarm away and the scene changes abruptly to…”

Pines near a Catacomb (the underground burial sites for the early Christians): “We see the shadows of the pines, which overhang the entrance to a catacomb. From the depths rises a mournful chant that reechoes solemnly, like a hymn, and then dies away mysteriously.”

The Pines of the Janiculum (the highest hill in Rome, but not one of the famous seven, the location of a cult worshiping the god Janus): “Moonlight and the song of a nightingale enfold the pines on the Janiculum hill with mystery. There is a thrill in the air.” The voice of the nightingale is provided by a recording.

“The Pines of the Appian Way (one of the great Roman roads leading south from the city): “Misty dawn on the Appian Way. The tragic country is guarded by the solitary pines. Indistinctly, incessantly, the rhythm of innumerable steps...visions of past glories: trumpets blare, and the army of the Consul advances brilliantly...in the rising sun...mounting in triumph the Capitoline Hill.”

Ironically, while Respighi uses the giant pines as symbols of Rome’s ancient past, these trees are relative newcomers to the eternal city. The species was introduced from Sardinia, probably in the seventeenth or eighteenth century.

Joseph & Elizabeth Kahn
Wordpros@mindspring.com
www.wordprosmusic.com