Pini di Roma (Pines of Rome), P.141
Ottorino Respighi
(b. July 9, 1879 in Bologna; d. April 18, 1936 in Rome)
Pines of Rome from 1924 is Respighi’s second lush and extravagant, late Romantic tone-poem of three that all together became known as the Roman Trilogy. Respighi’s conception of the piece was complete and detailed and he wrote his own narrative into the score:
“Pines of the Villa Borghese” — “Children are at play in the pine groves of Villa Borghese; they dance round in circles. They play at soldiers, marching and fighting, they are wrought up by their own cries like swallows at evening, they come and go in swarms.”
“Pines Near a Catacomb” — “Suddenly the scene changes — we see the shades of the pine trees fringing the entrance to a catacomb. From the depth rises the sound of a mournful chant, floating through the air like a solemn hymn, and gradually and mysteriously dispersing.”
“The Pines of the Janiculum” — “There is a thrill in the air: the pine-trees of the Janiculum stand distinctly outlined in the clear light of the full moon. A nightingale is singing.”
“Pines of the Appian Way” — “Misty dawn on the Appian Way: solitary pine trees guarding the magic landscape; the muffled, ceaseless rhythm of unending footsteps. The poet has a fantastic vision of bygone glories: trumpets sound and, in the brilliance of the newly-risen sun, a consular army bursts forth towards the Sacred Way, mounting in triumph to the Capitol.”
Pines of Rome was the first piece to employ recorded bird calls (the nightingale song at the end of the third movement). Pines of Rome proved to be a Godfather II, a sequel more popular and critically acclaimed than its predecessor. Respighi must have been thrilled, for soon after he named his country villa The Pines.
Born in Italy, Respighi was a world-class musician in the making. After early studies of piano and violin with his father, then composition, viola, and music history in secondary school, he went on to study in Saint Petersburg, Russia, with the master orchestrator and composer Rimsky-Korsakov and then to Berlin for more composition studies with Max Bruch. When he finally settled in Rome in 1913, he knew it was his forever home and, except for concert tours, he remained there the rest of his life.
The depth of connection to his adopted city was made manifest in the Roman Trilogy, three pieces separately conceived, but sharing DNA as they rolled out over twelve years. First the Fountains of Rome in 1916, Pines of Rome in 1924, and finally Roman Festivals in 1928, these three are what he is best remembered for.