Ask a musicologist to name the most important Italian composer of the early twentieth century, and the answer will likely be Alfredo Casella, or Gian Francesco Malipiero, or perhaps lldebrando Pizzetti. But ask a concert-goer to name a post-Verdi Italian composer other than Puccini, and the name which comes up most often is Ottorino Respighi. All of these men were known widely in their day as composers, performers, and educators, yet the latter is the only one whose music has truly made it into the international repertoire.
Respighi's music is widely known and performed today because of the merits of the music, which in its well-constructed and lyrical nature still appeals to performers and concert audiences. Respighi's historical significance comes from his efforts in returning the music of his nativeland to international prominence. With successful symphonic, chamber, and choral works,Respighi and his contemporaries helped free Italy from the stranglehold of more than a centuryof total domination by opera.
One way these composers injected new life into the music of their country was by returning to the then-forgotten works of early Italian masters, infusing elements of this pre-Classical music into their own compositions. It was between 1928 and 1930 that Respighi wrote one such work, his Lauda per la Natività del Signore. ("Laud to the Nativity"), a cantata-like work scored for threesoloists, mixed chorus, and small instrumental ensemble.
Clinton F. Nieweg says
Lee G. Barrow says
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