Déjà Review: this review was first published in November 2001 and the recording is still available.

Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936)
Respighi’s Rome
The Fountains of Rome (1914-16)
The Pines of Rome (1924)
Roman Festivals (1929)
Oregon Symphony Orchestra/James DePriest
rec. 1987/2001, Arlene Schnitzer Auditorium, Portland, USA
Delos DE3287 [66]

It is common these days to hear of the travails of the classical recording industry. Even star artists make few recordings and financial difficulties are said to afflict most record labels. However, amid all the doom and gloom the Oregon Symphony was able to announce recently that a single benefactor, Gretchen Brooks, had given them a gift of $1m to finance a programme of recordings. I recently reviewed the first CD made under this arrangement which consisted of Stravinsky ballet music and now this second disc has been released. To judge from these two CDs the gift is most welcome as it enables a wider audience to appreciate what a fine orchestra currently exists in Oregon.

Actually, the recording of Roman Festivals is not new. It was included on what I believe was the first disc which the orchestra made for Delos but its inclusion here to complete Respighi’s Roman triptych is entirely logical.

All three of these tone poems are opulently orchestrated, especially The Pines, and this collection is thus a good opportunity for us to hear what an excellent band James DePriest has built up since he became Music Director in 1980. These pieces rely above all on orchestral colouring to make their effect and DePriest, in drawing marvellously fine and responsive playing from his orchestra, ensures that Respighi’s scores are played for all they are worth. All three performances are rich in atmosphere and I admired particularly the sensitivity with which are played such movements as ‘The Fountain of the Giulia Valley at Dawn’ and ‘Pines near a Catacomb’.

This is not to imply that there is any lack of power in the louder passages. Far from it. The account of ‘The Pines of the Appian Way’, for example, is simply stunning with DePriest controlling the celebrated crescendo magnificently.

The Delos engineers also play a full part in the success of this issue. The recordings, which were made in the orchestra’s ‘home’ concert hall, are absolutely superb. The sound is full and rich, abundant detail is audible and a wholly believable “front to back” perspective is conveyed. Oddly, the famous nightingale at the end of ‘The Pines of the Janiculum’ is heard more distantly than on some other recordings I have heard but I for one don’t mind this.

Incidentally, though the recording of Roman Festivals was made some fourteen years before its two companions were set down I did not notice that the older recording was any less good than the more recent ones.

There are many recordings of these pieces in the catalogues but these newcomers must rank amongst the best now available. Apart from a couple of editorial slips on the back cover of the booklet the documentation is good. All in all, a distinguished issue which will give much pleasure and can be recommended confidently.

John Quinn

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