Respighi 'Church Windows' - Vasily Petrenko conducts

Respighi's 'Church Windows' ('Vetrate di Chiesa') are seldom heard in the concert hall but here is a performance given in Rome in 2011 by Vasily Petrenko and the Orchestra dell'Accademia di Santa Cecilia. The four 'symphonic impressions' are (1) The Flight into Egypt; (2) St. Michael Archangel; (3) The Matins of St. Clare; and (4) St. Gregory the Great. (With acknowledgements to RAI.)
00:00 The Flight into Egypt ... " ...the little caravan proceeded through the desert, in the starry night, carrying the Treasure of the World."
07:20 St. Michael Archangel ... "And a great battle was made in the Heavens: Michael and his Angels fought with the dragon, and fought the dragon and his angels. But these did not prevail, and there was no more place for them in Heaven."
12:50 The Matins of St. Clare ... "But Jesus Christ her bridegroom, not wishing to leave her thus disconsolate, had her miraculously carried by the angels to the Church of St. Francis, and to be at the whole function of Matins."
18:50 St. Gregory the Great ... "Ecce Pontifex Maximus! ... Bless the Lord ... Sing the hymn to God. Alleluia!"

[@gceptx1]

WOW!! Thank you for sharing this incredible performance. ❤ I can say I was fortunate enough to see the Maestro conduct The Fountains and The Pines of Rome.

[@andrewhahn1227]

It is impossible to listen to this amazing piece of art and not be moved to tears! Fantastic performance!!!

[@norahdenovan8658]

Respighi is a master, this is beautiful , like everything he has done. ❤️🌹

[@miguelmorales3016]

Esta música es sublime!!! No puede catalogarse de otra forma...! Hay como una belleza de otro mundo!!

[@b1i2l336]

This is the most beautiful performance of Respighi's gorgeous composition I have ever heard.

[@michaelpatterson2955]

Very nice performance! Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra gave a timeless rendition of it also. Thanks for posting it.

[@ljiljanastanic9076]

Stunning...sublime...

[@buzzbrayable]

Beautiful! And performed by Respighi's own Accademia du Santa Cecilia.

[@davidblackburn7090]

Wonderful !

[@BritinIsrael]

Just returned from Prague where i attended my first live performance of this exciting work.....in the Municipal House concert hall conducted by Jose Cure ( also a baritone and composer! ) 9/3/17. Terrific acoustics. Magnificent performance which resulted in a 5 minute standing ovation!!

[@rfrench5]

Stunning

[@ericjohnson8336]

Astounding

[@fabricelacroix749]

J'adore ce compositeur aux couleurs éclatantes, aux éclairages magnifiques. Encore un gars méconnu...

[@alessandrosbardella3241]

Interpretazione raffinata .Evidenzia la grande poesia del maestro .

[@steveburrus9347]

EVERYTHING which Otorino Rhespigi wrote was JUST GOLDEN! He was probabl y the most religious of all of the classical music composers and it certainly shows in his glorious music. I would love to have known him I tell you.

[@soupcon6023]

And yet, the titles of the movement were added after the music and they were based on the images of the stained glass frescoes ofmthe church. Magnificent work and so badly overlooked in favor of The Pines/Fountains Of Rome. More people should hear this. My younger brother introduced it to me many years ago and because he passed away very suddenly in 2020, it has an increased poignancy for me now. I did shed a tear.

[@shogotsuchiya6030]

わー！！教会のステンドグラス！ そしてペトレンコ様の指揮！！若いから数年前だね笑 是非日本に来てもらいたい✨一番好きな指揮者✨✨

[@akihito3315]

Shogo Tsuchiya 今年の5月にツアーを行ってましたよ、自分コンサートに行きましたがとても良かったですよ、

[@rredhawk]

I actually like the slower tempo of this version compared to others I've heard. Conductor takes his time with the "heavier" parts of this piece, bringing out more of their "power" than some of the other versions I've heard.

Saint Michael was way too fast, however it still brought shivers down my spine... Too bad the organ was so weak.

[@miltronix]

The ghastly, tinny, fake sounds of the electronic organ ruined it for me. Did they take a "direct feed" from it for this recording? Good heavens, I do hope the organ sounded much, much better in the Hall!

[@tomlarge3065]

I agree - the organ needed to have a huge robust sound - not the tiny tin sound here - too bad.

[@soupcon6023]

Hmm...not sure if it would have- I was so looking forward to that section too. I keep writing to the BBC to have it included in their Prom concerts- they have included Respighi but it was The Fountains of Rome. The RAH would be better for CW- because there is an enormous pipe organ there- that's what the composer wanted. Thank goodness for the recording I have- but still fascinating to watch, so thanks for uploading!! 🎶😘🎶

[@jamesschneeberg3836]

I actually laughed when I heard it. The build to the organs entrance is glorious, then that is the sound you get when the orchestra drops and you hear the organ alone.

[@PeterGrasshoff]

The organist seems to have registered the instrument quite delicately on purpose... very few stops are on. The organ could have sounded much louder and fuller, for sure.

[@lukasmiller486]

@@jamesschneeberg3836 Yeah, it sounds real puny ass. Wonder what the organist was smoking when he chose those stops.

[@5PctJuice]

Some gripes here and there, as there will be with any performance, but overall a stunning performance.

[@MyTroubadour]

Une œuvre magistrale du grand Ottorino Respighi magistralement interprétée avec la fougue et l'expression nécessaire pour l'honorer. Dommage que l'orgue manque d'ampleur.

[@shin-i-chikozima]

なんと宗教的であろうか。演奏は素晴らしい。

[@frankeffenberger9698]

Respighi Church Windows, Roman Minneapolis Symphony Dorati, Antal Mercury MG50046 1954 Super version.

[@richrol58]

"Church Lady" played louder organ!

[@florentina3669]

Hi! Can someone please tell me what's the name of this costume, this black suit worn by the conductor? and where can i buy?

[@ropotamo2449]

It is from Ermenegildo Zegna. Its difficult to find nowadays. Back then it was about €5000 when tailored

[@esteban_osman]

7:24

[@paullewis2413]

Wonderful work by Respighi spoilt for me by the over the top theatricality of the last movement.

[@radiootoo]

Marvelous! How old is this kid?

[@adam28xx]

Vasily Petrenko was born on 7 July 1976, so he would have been 35 when this performance was filmed..

[@TheVaughan5]

He is no kid anymore (41 now) and has transformed the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra into a world class orchestra since becoming their chief conductor. A couple of years back he was appointed chief of the Oslo Philharmonic one of the World's great orchestras.

[@tadbeld6569]

Just recently Petrenko was named the Music Director for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London and as of Jan. of 2021 has started conducting concerts there.... You can find some of the Orchestras videos on KZbin. Hopefully he will bring the RPO back to what it once was ages ago under Sir Thomas Beecham....

[@TheEternalWayfarer]

San Gregorio mi sembra un po' troppo veloce e "nervosa". Dell'organo si è già parlato, suona come una pianola. La registrazione di Simon con la Philarmonia rimane insuperata.

[@gojousubaru2336]

ブラボー！ しかし指揮者若いな～

[@materiaru0078]

ぎゃーーーー！！！ カルボナーレがソロじゃん！！！！

[@sureevennot3418]

Great performance. Shame for miserable digital organ used in it.

[@richrol58]

Where's Rick Wakeman when you need him??

[@richrol58]

Where's Rick Wakeman when you need him??

[@claudiopanzironi4019]

I completely agree! That organ is a real shame!

[@jgesselberty]

Performance is great. The video is so distracting and busy that you cannot look at it for long.

[@paullewis2413]

Petrenko is of course a very good conductor and this performance is fine but listen to Geoffrey Simon/Philharmonia on Y.T. for a really great performance.

[@lukasmiller486]

23:40 I’ve heard digital organs that sound great; I just don’t like the stops he used. They sound too tight and strained. Not enough richness and depth. I don’t know what he was thinking but it sounds awfully anticlimactic.

[@Renee2004lr]

This is truly a disappointing performance considering all. I can't tell if it is entirely Petrenko's attitude or if it is more than that. There are much better performances available.

[@mleightle9289]

it's got some strangeness to it, but I can tell you this, whether it's the recording or how it ended up being uploaded to youtube, it's definitely lacking in definition and the evidence comes in how the organ sounds...sounds like a small chapel pipe organ...

[@richrol58]

So, go listen to them...just sayin'! (I don't feel like I wasted 30 odd minutes, thank you---CHECK THAT: actually I started to squirm a little near the end of the last section--pretty slooooooow...)

[@soupcon6023]

Maybe upload them for us to enjoy then?

[@octaviocgsa]

St. Michael too fast...

[@harmoniumbauer]

Ridicolo l'uso di un tostapane elettronico (per altro usato da cani per quanto riguarda la scelta dei registri) nell'ultima vetrata. Se non si hanno i mezzi per affrontare certo repertorio meglio non affrontarlo. Indegno per un'orchestra di primo ordine come quella di s. Cecilia. Un insulto a Respighi e al portentoso organo Vegezzi-Bossi che aveva a disposizione all'Augusteo, distrutto dall'Italica "cultura". The organ part in the last window is absolutely RIDICOLOUS. Respighi and this magnificent work deserves a much better treatment, not a cheap and badly voiced toaster (or electronic organ, if you like).

[@riccardosabatini353]

Concordo fino all'ultima virgola! L'organo mancato - si deve ricordare - non si fece per decisione di Luciano Berio il quale, "in una lettera inviata a Italia Nostra che aveva caldeggiato il progetto della costruzione dell'organo, spiegò le assurde e, per un musicista, indegne ragioni della sua insana decisione". Qui la ricostruzione della vicenda: rivista.consaq.it/online/24_11/MUSIC@_n24_lug-ago2011_8-12_inchiesta.pdf

[@riccardosabatini353]

Qui si vedono alcune foto dell'Augusteo e dell'organo Vegezzi-Bossi: www.romafelix.it/laugusteo-un-grande-organo-e-la-sala-concerti-di-roma/

[@BritinIsrael]

Great performance of yet another Respighi wonderful composition. Pity the organ is more suited to a fairground and not part of an orchestral concert. Terrible organ sound.

[@larikipe940]

The organ used in this performance is VERY disappointing.

[@wardropper]

Nothing wrong with the organ. It's a magnificent specimen. What's wrong is the microphone placement in this recording. Today's recording engineers don't listen to live music often enough.

[@riccardosabatini353]

@@wardropper Magnificent specimen??? Next time: conductor replaced by a big TV screen and the orchestra by Logic Pro. What a magnificent specimen... :-D

[@riccardosabatini353]

Agree at 1000%

[@BritinIsrael]

@@wardropper this is a fairground organ. definately not suited for this work. a terrible sound.

[@miguelsuarez8010]

Terrible organ. I coudn't stand it.

[@tomlarge3065]

I agree - the organ needed to have a huge robust sound - not the tiny tin sound here - too bad.

[@lednew2010]

I love Petrenko's work, so I was monumentally disappointed in this performance. Sorry, but Geoffrey Simon or Jesus Lobos-Copez, even the old Eugene Ormandy are better than this. Unfortunately not recorded (yet?) was a stellar performance by Alan Gilbert with the NY Phil I attended live last year. I'll keep hoping they do record it.

[@concernedcitizen4852]

I agree with you!