Respighi’s Lauda per la Natività del Signore: Inspiration and Legacy 

Tony Guarino 

Ottorino Respighi’s (1879-1936) Lauda per la Natività del Signore (1928-30) is a 25-minute work scored for three soloists, chorus, and wind ensemble, set to a medieval hymn of praise attributed to 13th century Franciscan friar Jacopone da Todi (1230-1306). In this piece, Respighi demonstrates his ability to archaize by drawing influences from many different periods in Italy’s rich musical history, as one can easily identify the musical idioms of Gregorian chant, medieval lauda, Renaissance madrigal, and Monteverdi ariosa flavoring the modern palette of Respighi’s neo-classical and late-Romantic style. In the context of the Italian music landscape in the early 20th century, and considering the prominence of verismo opera over other genres of music at the time, the immediate critical success of the Lauda represents an important step in the resurged interest in choral and pre-classical music as well as an influx of nationalistic motivations of Italian composers.[22] Respighi’s involvement with a number of artistic reformatory groups such as the Lega dei Cinque and the Societa Nazionale di Musica lend to his status as an activist for national Italian music, and inform the way that his musical decisions are received.  

Beginning in the nineteenth century, the international distinction once enjoyed by Italian composers slowly diminished to near artistic isolation by the 1880s, causing several conservatories to encourage young composers to go to Germany or France for higher musical education.[23] With little to no outside influences for guidance or inspiration, musical activity in Italy was predominantly dedicated to pleasing the critical and trend-obsessed opera audiences, of which young composers had a hard time reaching. Bel canto reigned supreme while traditional Italian mediums of choral, symphonic, and chamber music were largely abandoned by native composers.[24] This environment was detrimental to the aspiring young Italian composers: they were not adequately trained by the local conservatories, felt forced to conform to fashionable opera styles in order to have their music performed, and had to rely on the opinion of a verismo-centric public as the only response to their work.[25] After considering the difficult music industry of late 19th century Italy, it’s obvious why older composers of this era would have decided to send their students elsewhere to learn, and why some would feel a duty to change it.  

The composer that is credited by Barrow and Waterhouse with taking the first step at revitalizing the creativity of Italian music is Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901), who encouraged composers to “Return to the ancient, and be a progressive.”[26] He envisioned a resuscitation of national music inspired by the music of great Italian composers such as Palestrina and Marcello, and wrote his choral work Quattro Pezzi Sacri (1886-1897) late in his musical career as a realization of his goal.[27] In the late 19th century, a group of composers led by one of Respighi’s first teachers, Giuseppe Martucci, began writing more symphonic and chamber music as a response to what they viewed as a superficial entertainment style known as verismo opera.[28] Though the compositions of these men were generally unsuccessful and criticized for unoriginality by music critics at the time, the risk they took to go against what was fashionable encouraged the next generation to continue the legacy of Verdi. 

Ottorino Respighi, the oldest of “La Generazione dell’Ottanta” (the generation of the 80s) was born in Bologna, Italy in 1879. His father, a piano teacher, gave him his first piano and violin lessons when he was a child, and soon sent him off to the Liceo Musicale in Bologna to study with violinist Federico Sarti. While at the Liceo Musicale, Respighi also studied composition with Luigi Torchi, a musicologist who sparked his interest in early music, and Giuseppe Martucci, the same man who was the leading force in composing non-operatic music. Both of these teachers had a great influence on the course of his career, and instilled in him a love of music genres that were not necessarily popular in Italy at the time. In addition, the culmination of these two composers’ influences on Respighi likely led him to become involved with the nationalistic music activist groups later in his life. In the early 1900s after his schooling, Respighi was employed several times to play viola in Russian orchestras (including the Imperial Theatre in St. Petersburg), where he took a few important lessons from Rimsky-Korsakov with focus on orchestration; The results of these lessons are seen in the creativity and innovation of Respighi’s orchestration-- such as in his 1903 composition Suite in E.[29] He also went to study with Bruch in Berlin in 1902, but the German composer’s effect is not as obviously seen in Respighi’s music.[30] Between 1903 and 1908, Respighi worked mainly as an orchestra player back in Bologna while slowly gaining more recognition for his natural compositional talents.[31]

Around the time his first full opera Semirama premiered in 1910, Respighi became briefly involved in an anti-establishment pressure group named the Lega dei Cinque with other composers Pizzetti, Malipiero, Bastianelli, and Bossi.[32] This Italian nationalist group, with a name intentionally reminiscent of Russia’s “Mighty Five,” aimed to put into action the words of Verdi, and return Italian music to what they believed was a former greatness before the rise of verismo opera. To quote the manifesto of this group in Bastianelli’s ‘Per un Nuovo Risorgimento’: “Italy may not seem worth of any music other than that of the melodious and melodramatic opera composers of the now aging ‘Giovane scuola’...but do you not remember that in Italy…there once blossomed the limpid, celestial religious expression of Palestrina…the chromatic profundity of Frescobaldi…our task must be in line with that of the few heroes of Russian music, among whom flourished the Russian Homer, Modest Musorgsky—heroes who, rejecting the commercial blandishments of servile imitators of foreign musical styles, wished to create in their country a national music.”[33] This was the first time that the three leading composers of the Generazione dell’Ottanta (Pizzetti, Malipiero, and Respighi) were unified in a single group.  

After the 1917 premier of what is considered his most famous work, Fontane di Roma, Respighi joined yet another nationalistic music group—Alfredo Casella’s “Societa Italiana di Musica Moderna” (“Italian Modern Music Society”)[34] with Malipiero, Pizzetti, and other young composers (similar line-up as Lega dei Cinque). Formerly named the “Societa Nazionale di Musica” (“National Music Society”), the S.I.M.M. was formed with the intent of “performing the most interesting music of the young Italians, resurrecting our old forgotten music, printing the most interesting new compositions, publishing a periodical, and organizing a system of exchanging new music with the principal foreign countries.”[35] This last point of “exchanging new music with the principal foreign countries” is important, because it shows a self-awareness on the part of these Italian composers of the secluded nature of Italian music at the time, and a determination to reform. Though the Society only lasted a few years, it was successful in its attempts to bring music from other countries in Europe to the Italian people, and generated a genuine interest in the music of young Italian composers amongst the Italian public.[36] Once the Society disbanded, Casella and Malipiero became more interested in modern musical ideas of the rest of Europe, while Respighi and Pizzetti turned further to the music of the past. However, the four composers maintained the nationalistic goals in their varied compositional styles.[37]

Just as his efforts were significant in the revival of interest in the music of the past and of other countries, the success of Respighi’s Lauda was considerably important to the resurgence of choral music in Italy.[38] This is elaborated on by Barrow, who considers that “virtually all of Italy’s most noted composers have written a number of choral compositions” since the Lauda was written.[39] However, before this resurgence, original choral music wasn’t even found in the Church. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Italian church music was either based on operatic tradition or adapted from operatic music with the original text replaced by sacred words.[40] Choral music was so abandoned it seemed, that the few Italian composers that dared try their hand at the medium did so out of the country: “The impoverished state of choral music in that country is further demonstrated by the fact that most of the other important choral works of that era by Italians, such as the two Requiem Masses of Luigi Cherubini (1760-1842) and the Stabat Mater and Petite Messe Solennelle of Giochino Rossini (1792-1868), were written while these composers were living in other countries, and were premiered outside of Italy.”[41] Even into the 20th century, Italian composers continued to neglect the choral idiom for a few reasons, mainly that there were very few choirs that had the ability to perform demanding material: “choral singing... and indeed everything except sheer technical ability as executants, were badly taught and largely neglected” at Italian conservatories.[42] Apparently, every school besides the St. Cecilia Academy, where Respighi taught and for which the Lauda was written, did not have the skills needed to perform choral works.[43]

One important first step in the re-emergence of choral music was the initiative of the Church to make sacred music based on either Gregorian chant or Renaissance style. Through two decrees issued in 1894 and 1903, the church encouraged enthusiasm for the music of Italy’s past, and inspired composers like M. Enrico Bossi (1861-1925) and Lorenzo Perosi (1872-1956) to return to oratorio and Renaissance polyphony.[44] In the text of the Motu Proprio Tra le Sollecitudini, the goal is outlined: “On these grounds Gregorian Chant has always been regarded as the supreme-model for sacred music, so that it is fully legitimate to lay down the following rule: the more closely a composition for church approaches in its movement, inspiration and savor the Gregorian form, the more sacred and liturgical it becomes. The more out of harmony it is with that supreme model, the less worthy it is of the temple.” In the early 1900s, Ildebrando Pizzetti (1880-1968) was the composer that took charge of bringing choral music to the new century. First inspired by hearing the polyphonic singing of peasants in his hometown[45], Pizzetti wrote his first important work in a modal style as incidental music in the play La Nave (1905-07).[46] As he developed his archaizing style, other members of the “generazione dell’ottanta” (Italian composers grouped together by a birth-year around 1880 with a common goal of revitalizing the national music) began to catch on, including Ottorino Respighi.[47]

Written between 1928 and 1930 for the choir of the Conservatorio di St. Cecilia (where Respighi taught from 1913-1926) to perform in the Chigi Palace in Siena, Respighi’s Lauda has been described as a “sacred musical play” (Bragaglia), “large Christmas carol” (Waterhouse), “little cantata” (E. Respighi), “dramatic cantata” (Burton-Page), and “vocal poem” (De Paoli, De Rensis), yet almost everyone unanimously agrees that it is some of Respighi’s best work.[48] Waterhouse: “...The Lauda...must rank among his best pieces, being perhaps the purest expression of that ingenious, child-like sensibility that lies at the core of much of his more elaborate music too.”[49] However, it’s not just contemporary music critics that appreciated it; Italian music critic Luigi Colacicchi (1900-1976), gave a favorable review of one of its first performances: “A very characteristic composition, intentionally archaic and naive, but rich in color and persuasively eloquent… It presented another evidence of the charm of Respighi’s unsurpassed instrumental technique.”[50] In the timeline of Italian music, the Lauda played a very important role in reestablishing chorale music as an attractive genre for young composers.[51] Respighi’s second (and last) choral composition, Lauda per la Nativita del Signore is scored for soprano, mezzo, tenor, two flutes, oboe, English horn, two bassoons, piano four-hands, and triangle. Elsa Respighi: “Respighi used to say about orchestration that music was always born for a specific instrument or group of instruments.”[52] In line with this principle, it is clear that he chose the instrumentation to evoke shepherd and Christmas themes that have been used by many composers including Bach, Berlioz, and Schutz.[53]

In this work, one can find elements of plainsong, Gregorian chant, folk-song, and 16th century madrigals in a synthetic setting to Jacopone da Todi’s medieval lauda. The Italian lauda, a medieval hymn of praise traditionally set a monophonic line, serves as the lyrical and dramatic structure for Respighi’s music. The text is a dramatized section of the Nativity story from the second chapter of St. Luke: an angel announces the birth of Jesus Christ to the shepherds. Then a chorus of angels describe where he lives in poverty “lying between the ox and the ass.” The shepherds are shocked to find out that the lord is living in such a poor circumstance, and ask to be guided to where the child is. Once they reach the lord, the shepherd contemplate the humility of his dwelling, and offer their cloaks to keep the child warm as Mary sings in exaltation. The shepherds then ask permission to touch their lord, and Mary consents. They explode with happiness as all sing praise to the lord.  

Respighi’s choices for the three solo vocalists maintain a tradition found in Christmas works written by many other composers: The Angel is sung by a high soprano; Mary (originally performed by Elsa) is a mezzo soprano; the Shepherd is performed by a tenor; and the mixed chorus has both the roles of Angels and Shepherds.[54] In recordings of this work, the amount of vibrato used by the singers is something of great variety. Some prefer the straight tone that is often used to interpret medieval and renaissance music, while others take on an operatic tone. I believe that the blurred line between choral piece and opera is what made this piece extremely popular with the initial Italian audience, as elements of both forms can be found. “Tkach believes that the independent use of the three performing elements (soloists, chorus, and instruments), the pitch security demands placed on the chorus, and the directions for staging cast the work into the sphere of opera.”[55] Respighi addresses this perceived freedom on the part of the performers to bring out a certain historical style or not: “The performer is in a way the composer’s collaborator as well as reproducer. There can be various different performances of the same work but they all combine to form the ideal image of the composer’s intention, an image which he could only fix imperfectly and express partially.”[56]

As for melodic and harmonic content, the Lauda is rich with modal (Mixolydian English horn solo in the opening), chromatic, and diatonic writing, and the composer flawlessly swims between the three worlds with little effort shown. As Lee Barrow, the leading Lauda historian writes, “In his harmonic writing Respighi is eclectic, often shifting styles when there is a change in the text. In the rather short Lauda one can find a diversity of styles ranging from chant-like modality to late Romantic lushness to neo-classical simplicity.”[57] Respighi employs the use of open and parallel fifths, chords of mediant relationship, and extended harmonies such as seventh and eleventh chords in his diverse harmonic language.

In part from the success of the Laud, there was a monumental renewal of interest in writing choral music in the mid-1930s.[58] Once an abandoned medium, many composers of that era began to once again write choral compositions, and two in particular, Luigi Dallapiccola (1904-1975) and Goffredo Petrassi (1904-2003), further developed the ideas of the “Generazione dell’ottanta.” In both Dallapiccola’s Sei Cori di Michelangelo (1932-36) and Petrassi’s Magnificat (1939-40), these composers represented the “final step” in the rejuvenation of Italian choral music. They took the “archaizing” styles of Pizzetti, Malipiero, and Respighi, and fused it with the modern 20th century harmonic language, continuing the legacy of those before them.[59] Of note, practically all Italian composers since WWII have written at least one choral piece.[60]

Works Cited 

Barrow, Lee Gordon. "Otterino Respighi's Laud to the Nativity." The Choral Journal 28, no. 1 (August 1987): 5-9. 

Barrow, Lee Gordon. Ottorino Respighi's Lauda per La Natività Del Signore: A Historical Investigation and a Conductor's Analysis. PhD diss., University of Miami, 1985. UMI: Ann Arbor, 1988. 

Colacicchi, Luigi. "Rome Hears New Opera by Persico and Concert Novelties." Musical America 51, no. 5 (March 10, 1931): 6. 

Goldbeck, Frederick. Twentieth Century Composers. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1974. 

Respighi, Elsa. Ottorino Respighi: His Life Story. London: Ricordi, 1962. 

Waterhouse, John C. G. Gian Francesco Malipiero 1882-1973: The Life, Times, and Music of a Wayward Genius. Amsterdam: Harwood Academic Publishers, 1999. 

Waterhouse, John C. G. "Respighi, Ottorino." Oxford Music Online. November 26, 2015. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.julliard.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/47335. 

Waterhouse, John C. G. "The Emergence of Modern Italian Music (up to 1940)." Master's thesis, 1968. 

White, Maxwell D. Ildebrando Pizzetti. Bacharach.