The Pines of Rome, P. 141

• Respighi wrote his four-movement tone poem Pini di Roma between 1923-4.¹
• Respighi’s Fountains of Rome (Fontane di Roma, 1916) had been an international success, and Respighi wrote Pines and Feste romane (1928) as conscious sequels.²

Movements

with Respighi’s program notes³

The Pines of the Villa Borghese (Allegretto vivace)—Children are at play in the pine groves of the Villa Borghese, dancing the Italian equivalent of “Ring around a Rosy.” They mimic marching soldiers and battles. They twitter and shriek like swallows at evening, coming and going in swarms. Suddenly the scene changes. 

The Pines Near a Catacomb (Lento)—We see the shadows of the pines, which overhang the entrance of a catacomb. From the depths rises a chant, which echoes solemnly, like a hymn, and is then mysteriously silenced. 

The Pines of the Janiculum (Lento)—There is a thrill in the air. The full moon reveals the profile of the pines of Gianicolo’s Hill. A nightingale sings. 

The Pines of the Appian Way (Tempo di Marcia)—Misty dawn on the Appian Way. The tragic country is guarded by solitary pines. Indistinctly, incessantly, the rhythm of unending steps. The poet has a fantastic vision of past glories. Trumpets blare, and the army of the Consul bursts forth in the grandeur of a newly risen sun toward the Sacred Way, mounting in triumph the Capitoline Hill. 

1.  John C.G. Waterhouse, Janet Waterhouse, and Potito Pedarra, “Respighi, Ottorino.” Grove Music Online. 2001,” accessed April 1, 2021, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000047335.
2. Ibid.
3. Quoted in James M. Keller, “Program Notes: Respighi: Pines of Rome,” San Francisco Symphony (May 2018), accessed April 1, 2021, https://www.sfsymphony.org/Data/Event-Data/Program-Notes/R/Respighi-Pines-of-Rome.