Respighi: Tre Liriche

This album presents a selection of works for voice and orchestra by Respighi. The composer first gained recognition for his orchestration of Lamento d'Arianna, the only extant music from Monteverdi's lost second opera, L'Arianna, which garnered Respighi ecstatic reviews. The Berceuse is a touching, short lullaby for strings composed in 1902, while the Wagnerian Il tramonto and Aretusa, a precursor to the Fountains of Rome, are both based on the poetry of Shelley. Tre Liriche are three art songs originally set as separate works for mezzo-soprano and piano. On the personal invitation of Respighi's great nieces, Salvatore Di Vittorio has restored and edited the Berceuse and Lamento and completed the orchestration of the Tre Liriche.