Ottorino Respighi (Reh-SPEE-ghi) was a Romantic composer. Do you remember the words to the Romantic Era from our “Musical Timeline” song? “Romantic harmonies! Like those of Tchaikovsky, and Mendelssohn, Brahms, Holst, and Grieg, all shared their own stories. Ohhhhh, this is the Musical Timeline. It starts with the Early Age, then it’s Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical, Romantic, and not to forget the Modern Day!”

Ancient Airs and Dances are songs that were originally composed for the lute more than 300 years ago. The lute is an old string instrument, the ancestor of the guitar. Respighi took this ancient music and composed the songs for an entire orchestra. This is the second movement of Ancient Airs and Dances called “Gagliarda” (guy-YARD-uh). A gagliarda is an energetic dance in which the dancers leap around. Respighi starts the piece by composing a melody for strings that jumps around, just like the dancers might jump. In the middle, he introduces a much gentler, calmer section. It gives our ears—and the dancers!—time to rest. In the end, Respighi returns to his jumpy melody again. Can you tell when the first melody repeats again at the end?

This piece is played by the entire orchestra. Conductors, take out your batons. Musicians, take out your instruments. Can you play or conduct silently while listening to this piece?

Review questions:

1. Who is the composer and which musical era is he from

2. What is the name of this piece?

3. What is a lute?

4. What is a gagliarda?

5. Why does this have the word “ancient” in the title?

6. What does the beginning melody sound like?

7. What does the middle section sound like?

8. Which instruments play this piece?