Respighi: Gli Uccelli /Vetrate Di Chiesa; Scarlatti & Tommasini: Le Donne Di Buon Umore

Respighi (Artist), Scarlatti (Artist), Tommasini (Artist), Eugene Ormandy (Artist), Louis Lane (Artist), Philadelphia Orchestra (Orchestra), Cleveland Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra
• Audio CD (March 17, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000062DS
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #342,086 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Gli uccelli (The Birds), suite for orchestra, P. 154: I. Prelude

2. Gli uccelli (The Birds), suite for orchestra, P. 154: II. La colomba (The Dove)

3. Gli uccelli (The Birds), suite for orchestra, P. 154: III. La gallina (The Hen)

4. Gli uccelli (The Birds), suite for orchestra, P. 154: IV. L'usignuolo (The Nightingale)

5. Gli uccelli (The Birds), suite for orchestra, P. 154: V. Il cucù (The Cuckoo)

6. Vetrate di chiesa (Church Windows), 4 impressions for orchestra, P. 150: I. La fuga in Egitto (The Flight Into Qgypt)

7. Vetrate di chiesa (Church Windows), 4 impressions for orchestra, P. 150: II. S. Michele Arcangelo (St. Michael Archangel)

8. Vetrate di chiesa (Church Windows), 4 impressions for orchestra, P. 150: III. Il mattutino di Santa Chiara (The Matins of St. Clare)

9. Vetrate di chiesa (Church Windows), 4 impressions for orchestra, P. 150: IV. S. Gregorio Magno (St. Gregory the Great)

10. Le donne di buon umore (Good Humored Ladies), ballet (after Scarlatti Sonatas): I. Overture. Allegro

11. Le donne di buon umore (Good Humored Ladies), ballet (after Scarlatti Sonatas): II. Presto

12. Le donne di buon umore (Good Humored Ladies), ballet (after Scarlatti Sonatas): III. Allegro

13. Le donne di buon umore (Good Humored Ladies), ballet (after Scarlatti Sonatas): IV. Andante

14. Le donne di buon umore (Good Humored Ladies), ballet (after Scarlatti Sonatas): V. Non presto, in tempo di ballo

15. Le donne di buon umore (Good Humored Ladies), ballet (after Scarlatti Sonatas): VI. 'Cat's Fugue' and Finale. Presto

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Sometime in the ‘70s, Sony (then CBS) released a two LP set called The Respighi Album which contained, among other pieces, the Church Windows and The Birds. Now The Birds had been recorded before and was pretty well known, but Church Windows was a stereo novelty, and it made a tremendous impression. Now this legendary performance has been remastered onto a budget-priced CD at a fraction of the cost of the original! It sounds better than ever--those magnificently deep organ pedals in the second movement (depicting the Archangel Michael with his flaming sword) will send your neighbors running for cover. What fun! --David Hurwitz

BBC Magazine

Gloriously wilful and un-PC as are Respighi's arrangements of Rameau and Pasquini in The Birds, they are done with considerable artistry.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Performance and Price, October 20, 2000

By 

127 (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Respighi: Gli Uccelli /Vetrate Di Chiesa; Scarlatti & Tommasini: Le Donne Di Buon Umore (Audio CD)

This is a charming and very well performed CD. Respighi's "The Birds" has been recorded quite a bit, but I can't see any need to ever look farther than this recording for a good account. The orchestra sounds great from the contrabasses up through the harp and celeste. I can get a sense of the Baroque style that Respighi is emulating, but with the performance resources of the more modern symphony orchestra.

The Church Windows performance is also excellent and very expressive. All of the parts can be heard cleanly, and I particularly liked the woodwinds (especially the oboe) and the harp. The brass fall a little short of the more recent Lopez-Cobos recording, but they are still very good. The off-stage piccolo trumpet in II is beautifully played, but the brass throughout the movement don't have the punch that Cincinnati does on Telarc (this is a big battle, after all). The percussion are also very good, although today's technology has given us bigger sounding equipment for the most dramatic moments.

Recording quality is excellent and I don't think that many people would know that these performances were done roughly 30 years ago. This is a great, enjoyable CD at an unbeatable price.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent recording of Respighi's lesser known works., December 8, 2004

By 

W. Morris (Pensacola, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Respighi: Gli Uccelli /Vetrate Di Chiesa; Scarlatti & Tommasini: Le Donne Di Buon Umore (Audio CD)

After hearing three different recordings of the Church Windows (this being one of them) I have come to the conclusion that this is the finest recording out there of Respighi's lesser known works.

The lush string section of Philadelphia is the definite selling item of this album. They show (as they always have, considering they were one of the finest string sections on Earth during the time of the actual recording) a warmth that makes the performance even more-so welcome and enjoyable. They play very cleanly and display a discipline to follow the conductor's every whim.

The organ in Church Windows also is well balanced with the ensemble and, when played loudly, can raise the hairs on the back of this listener's neck. Pedals that can shake rafters and cause weak hearts to flutter.

I have yet to understand why this work is not a standard orchestral warhorse. With few available recordings, each being well done, but this one, currently unavailable, surpassing them, I can say this is a real find. I hope that Sony reissues this, as another poster has said. It is worth the investment. The Birds and The Good-Humored Ladies are also performed excellently on this album. If you can find this recording, grab it. It's worth every penny you spend on it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Soaring, Majestic Compositions, November 14, 2002

By 

rodboomboom (Dearborn, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Respighi: Gli Uccelli /Vetrate Di Chiesa; Scarlatti & Tommasini: Le Donne Di Buon Umore (Audio CD)

I am falling in love with the music of Respighi. Introduced to him at a Mannheim Steamroller concert where they played some selections from his Pines of Rome, I have slowly purchased more of his works.

This latest addition is such a great find! The Birds are so mellow and pleasant to listen to. The winds are magnificent here from the Philadelphia Orchestra in this legendary recording. Especially delightful is the playfulness of The Cuckoo.

Respighi's Church Windows shifts moods to won of emulating in various phrases of the music Gregorian chant. The pipe organ kicking in on The Matins was especially moving.

The excellent liner notes accompanying were very helpful in explaining how Respighi and Tommasini were throwbacks in their day to the previous musical styles, here resurrecting several of them with adaptation.

Scarlatti's harpsichord sonatas are here adapted to a delightful orchestral piece "The Good-Humored Ladies." Played eloquently by the Cleveland Orchestra under Louis Lane.