Fontane di Roma

Respighi takes us on a tour of his city in Fontane di Roma (Fountains of Rome), visiting four of its most beautiful fountains. The composer moved to Rome in 1913. He initially struggled with the fast pace of Roman life, but found solace in the city’s parks and gardens. Their fountains formed the basis of his first major tone poem, completed in 1916. This eventually became the first of a Rome-based trilogy, with Pini di Roma (Pines of Rome) following in 1924 and Feste Romane (Roman Festivals) in 1928. The day begins at “The Fountain of Valle Giulia at Dawn”. The music evokes a pastoral landscape and the sounds of nature awakening. The second movement presents “The Triton Fountain in the Morning'.' Triton, Greek god of the sea, summons his naiads with his shell horn. We hear his calls in the French horns, with the playful naiads following in the woodwinds. The climax comes with “The Trevi Fountain at Noon”. Rome’s most famous fountain depicts Neptune commanding the waters from his shell chariot. His solemn procession is heard in the woodwinds and brass, and the parting waters in the undulating strings beneath. The day ends at “The Villa Medici Fountain at Sunset”. This fountain sits in a garden high above Rome, and we hear the sounds of evening: the last bird calls, fluttering leaves, and the tolling of church bells from the city below.