Praise for the Christmas miracle

The origins of the composition Lauda per la Natività del Signore are known from Respighi's biography. During a harpsichord recital with Wanda Landowska in January 1928 in the palazzo of Conte Guido Chigi in Siena, the ambience and atmosphere inspired the composer so much that he wanted to compose a "Piccola cantata" for this room. He chose a hymn to the birth of Christ attributed to Jacopone da Todi as the text: Laus pro nativitate Domini. Respighi compiled the corresponding verses and stanzas for the setting like a kind of script.

The premiere of the score for soloists, choir, flutes, oboe, cor anglais, two bassoons, triangle and piano, which was completed in the summer of 1930, took place on November 22, 1930 in the hall of the "Micat in vertice" association together with a work by Respighi with the same instrumentation, the Suite della tabacchiera.

This Critical Edition of the work is deliberately based on the autograph. As there are some differences between this and the first edition of 1931, Riccordi kindly provided us with the galley proofs of the first edition of both the score and the piano reduction. The review revealed that the handwritten changes had been made by Respighi himself. Overall, they give the impression of a subsequent smoothing of the work. Attempts to obtain further information about this process from letters between the publisher and composer or notes were unsuccessful. Detailed information on the differences between the autograph and the first edition can be found in Part 1 of the Critical Report.

Ottorino Respighi, Lauda per la Natività del Signore, edited by Christine Haustein, score, CV 10.084/00, € 45.00, Carus, Stuttgart 2015