''Ancient Airs and Dances'' ( it, Antiche arie e danze) is a set of three orchestral suites by Italian

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

Ottorino Respighi Ottorino Respighi ( , , ; 9 July 187918 April 1936) was an Italian composer, violinist, teacher, and musicologist and one of the leading Italian composers of the early 20th century. List of compositions by Ottorino Respighi, His compositions r ...

, freely transcribed from original pieces for

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...

. In addition to being a renowned composer and conductor, Respighi was also a notable

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

. His interest in Italian music of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries led him to compose works inspired by the music of these periods.

Suite No. 1 (1917)

Suite No. 1 P 109 was composed in 1917. It was based on Renaissance

pieces by

Simone Molinaro Simone Molinaro (c. 1570 – May 1636)''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart''. Personenteil, Band 12, Kassel 2004, p. 308. was a composer of the late Renaissance in Italy. He was especially renowned for his lute music. Life and career Molina ...

Vincenzo Galilei Vincenzo Galilei (born 3 April 1520, Santa Maria a Monte, Italy died 2 July 1591, Florence, Italy) was an Italian lutenist, composer, and music theorist. His children included the astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei and the lute virtuoso and ...

(father of

Galileo Galilei Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...

) and additional anonymous composers. The orchestration calls for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 bassoons, 2 horns in F, trumpet in D, harp, harpsichord and strings.

Suite No. 2 (1923)

Suite No. 2, P 138 was composed in 1923. It was based on pieces for lute,

archlute The archlute ( es, archilaúd, it, arciliuto, german: Erzlaute) is a European plucked string instrument developed around 1600 as a compromise between the very large theorbo, the size and re-entrant tuning of which made for difficulties in the p ...

, and

viol The viol (), viola da gamba (), or informally gamba, is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, and stringed instruments with hollow wooden bodies and pegboxes where the tension on the strings can be increased or decreased to adjust the pitc ...

Fabritio Caroso Fabritio Caroso da Sermoneta (1526/1535 – 1605/1620) was an Italian Renaissance dancing master and a composer or transcriber of dance music. His dance manual ''Il Ballarino'' was published in 1581, with a subsequent edition, significantly dif ...

Jean-Baptiste Besard Jean-Baptiste Besard (c.1567 – c.1625) was a bisontin lutenist, composer and anthologist who lived and worked in the Holy Roman Empire.Julia Sutton: ''The Lute Instructions of Jean-Baptiste Besard'', in: ''The Musical Quarterly'' vol. 51, no. 2 ...

Bernardo Gianoncelli Bernardo is a given name and less frequently an Italian, Portuguese and Spanish surname. Possibly from the Germanic "Bernhard". Given name People * Bernardo the Japanese (died 1557), early Japanese Christian convert and disciple of Saint Franc ...

, and an anonymous composer. It also includes an aria attributed to

Marin Mersenne Marin Mersenne, OM (also known as Marinus Mersennus or ''le Père'' Mersenne; ; 8 September 1588 – 1 September 1648) was a French polymath whose works touched a wide variety of fields. He is perhaps best known today among mathematicians for ...

. The orchestration calls for an average-sized orchestra of 3 flutes (3rd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets in A/B♭, 2 bassoons, 3 horns in D (doubling 2 horns in E/F), 2 trumpets in A/D (doubling trumpet in C), 3 trombones, 3 timpani, celesta, harpsichord 4-hands, harp and strings.

Suite No. 3 (1931)

Suite No. 3, P 172 was composed in 1931. It differs from the previous two suites in that it is arranged for strings only and somewhat melancholy in overall mood. (A note by the composer in the printed score states that the work may also be performed by a string quartet, completely omitting the double-bass part.) It is based on lute songs by Besard, a piece for

Baroque guitar The Baroque guitar (c. 1600–1750) is a string instrument with five courses of gut strings and moveable gut frets. The first (highest pitched) course sometimes used only a single string. History The Baroque guitar replaced the Renaissance lut ...

Ludovico Roncalli Count Ludovico Giuseppe Antonio Filippo Roncalli, or simply Count Ludovico (1654–1713), was an Italian composer. Roncalli was born in Bergamo on 6 March 1654 and baptized at the church of San Pancrazio in the Città Alta in Bergamo on 8 June 16 ...

, and lute pieces by

Santino Garsi da Parma Santino Garsi da Parma (22 February 1542 – 17 January 1604) was an Italian lutenist and composer of the late Renaissance. His music was used as a basis for part of the ''Ancient Airs and Dances Suite No. 3'' by Ottorino Respighi Ottor ...

and additional anonymous composers.

Transcriptions

The ''Ancient Airs and Dances'' first two suites were freely transcribed by the composer for piano (2 and 4 hands). In 2016, Dennis Janzer transcribed the set for the organ.

Recordings

There have been many recordings of the suites in their entirety, and individually, with Suite No. 3 most frequently appearing alone. Recordings include: *

Philharmonia Hungarica The Philharmonia Hungarica was a symphony orchestra, based in Marl, Germany, which existed from 1956 to 2001. It was first established in Baden bei Wien near Vienna by Hungarian musicians who had fled their homeland after it was invaded by Sovi ...

Antal Dorati Antal may refer to: * Andal, 8th-century poet saint of South India * Antal (given name) * Antal (surname) Antal is clan (gotra) of Jats found mainly in Punjab besides it is also surname of Hungarian origin.Notable people with the surname include: ...

(Mercury) *

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, ...

Seiji Ozawa Seiji (written: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , or in hiragana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese ski jumper *, Japanese racing driver *, Japanese politician *, Japanese film directo ...

(DG) *

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) is an American chamber orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. LACO presents its Orchestral Series concerts at two venues, the Alex Theatre in Glendale and UCLA's Royce Hall. History James Arkatov, a ...

, Sir

Neville Marriner Sir Neville Marriner, (15 April 1924 – 2 October 2016) was an English violinist and "one of the world's greatest conductors". Gramophone lists Marriner as one of the 50 greatest conductors and another compilation ranks Marriner #14 of th ...

(EMI) *

Lausanne Chamber Orchestra The Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne (OCL, Lausanne Chamber Orchestra) is a Swiss chamber orchestra of around 40 musicians based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It has a vast repertoire, from the earliest baroque to contemporary premieres. The founder Vi ...

Jesús López-Cobos Jesus ( AD 30 or 33) was a Jewish preacher and religious leader who most Christians believe to be the incarnation of God and Muslims believe was a prophet. Jesus may also refer to: People Religious figures * Elymas Bar-Jesus, a Jew in the ''Ac ...

(Telarc) *

Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO) is a full-time professional chamber orchestra based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. In collaboration with five Artistic Partners, the orchestra's musicians present more than 130 concerts and educational programs ea ...

Hugh Wolff Hugh MacPherson Wolff (born October 21, 1953, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France) is an American conductor. Biography Born in France while his father was serving in the U.S. Foreign Service, Wolff spent his primary-school years in London. He received his ...

(Teldec) *

Australian Chamber Orchestra The Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) was founded by cellist John Painter in 1975.Verghis, Sharon"Bach with more bite pays off" ''Sydney Morning Herald'', 2 September 2005. Richard Tognetti was appointed Lead Violin in 1989 and subsequently appo ...

Christopher Lyndon-Gee Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or "Anointed", and φέρει� ...

(Omega) *

Sinfonia 21 Sinfonia (; plural ''sinfonie'') is the Italian word for symphony, from the Latin ''symphonia'', in turn derived from Ancient Greek συμφωνία ''symphōnia'' (agreement or concord of sound), from the prefix σύν (together) and ϕωνή (so ...

Richard Hickox Richard Sidney Hickox (5 March 1948 – 23 November 2008) was an English conductor of choral, orchestral and operatic music. Early life Hickox was born in Stokenchurch in Buckinghamshire into a musical family. After attending the Royal Gram ...

(Chandos) *

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra (founded 1972) is a classical music chamber orchestra based in New York City. They have won several Grammy Awards. The orchestra is known for its collaborative leadership style in which the musicians, not a conducto ...

(1 & 3 only) (DG) *

Rome Symphony Orchestra Rome Symphony Orchestra (RSO) is a professional U.S. orchestra located in Rome, Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United Sta ...

Francesco La Vecchia Francesco La Vecchia (born September 10, 1954) is an Italian classical conductor. Biography and career La Vecchia was born in Rome, and began studying music with his grandfather, who taught him theory, harmony and composition. His first instru ...

In 1987

Paul O'Dette Paul Raymond O'Dette (born February 2, 1954) is an American lutenist, conductor, and musicologist specializing in early music. Biography O'Dette, who was born in Pittsburgh, began playing the electric guitar in a rock band in Columbus, Ohio, w ...

released a recording of the original lute songs and dances on which Respighi based the suites.

Suite No. 3 only

Berliner Philharmoniker The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wit ...

(DG) * I Musici * I Solisti Italiani *

Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields The Academy of St Martin in the Fields (ASMF) is an English chamber orchestra, based in London. John Churchill, then Master of Music at the London church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, and Neville Marriner founded the orchestra as "The Academy o ...

, Sir Neville Marriner (Philips) *

English String Orchestra The English Symphony Orchestra and the English String Orchestra (collectively abbreviated as ESO) are two iterations of a British professional orchestra based in the city of Worcester, Worcestershire, in the West Midlands of England. History Fou ...

William Boughton William Boughton is an England, English Conducting, conductor. Overview Boughton has guest conducted with many of the world's leading orchestras from San Francisco to Helsinki. As founder, artistic and music director with the English Symphon ...

(Nimbus)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Compositions by Ottorino Respighi 1917 compositions 1923 compositions 1931 compositions Orchestral suites Compositions for symphony orchestra Compositions for string orchestra