Ottorino Respighi – Vetrate di chiesa

Vetrate di Chiesa (Church Windows) a work in four movements, was composed in 1926. Three of the four movements are based on Respighi’s Tre preludi sopra melodie gregoriane (1919). These pieces belong to the group of pieces that look back to the music of earlier centuries including the Ancient Airs and Dances, The Birds and Concerto Gregoriano. The composition marries fragments of Gregorian chant and modes with modern orchestration and expressive language. The descriptive titles for each movement (The Flight into Egypt, Saint Michael and the Archangel, The Matins of Saint Claire, Saint Gregory the Great) were added after the composition was completed.