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The Birds (Italian: Gli uccelli) is a suite for small orchestra by the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi. Dating from 1928, the work is based on music from the 17th and 18th century[1] and represents an attempt to transcribe birdsong into musical notation, and illustrate bird actions, such as fluttering wings, or scratching feet. The work is in five movements:[2][3]
- "Prelude" (based on the music of Bernardo Pasquini)
- "La colomba" ("The dove"; based on the music of Jacques de Gallot)
- "La gallina" ("The hen"; based on the music of Jean-Philippe Rameau)
- "L'usignuolo" ("The nightingale"; based on the folksong "Engels Nachtegaeltje" transcribed by recorder virtuoso Jacob van Eyck)
- "Il cucù" ("The cuckoo"; based on the music of Pasquini)
At least three of the movements make use of specific instruments picked to resemble birds. "La colomba" uses an oboe to resemble a dove. "La gallina" uses violins which are said to be "clucking in imitation of the gallinaceous beauty."[4] "L'usignuolo" uses a woodwind over sylvan strings.[4]
The suite was used for the ballet of the same name, with choreography by Cia Fornaroli, first performed at Sanremo Casinò Municipale on 19 February 1933; with choreography by Margarita Wallmann at the Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires, on 27 February 1940; and by Robert Helpmann, with design by Chiang Yee, by the Sadler's Wells Ballet at the New Theatre, London on 24 November 1942.[5]
Between 1965 and 1977 the first movement was used as the opening and closing theme for BBC TV series Going for a Song. The music played along with the sound of a bird in a cage automaton.
| External audio | |
|---|---|
 You may hear Respighi's "The Birds" with Antal Dorati conducting the London Symphony Orchestra in a recording from 1959 Here on archive.org |
Discussing The Birds, John Mangum notes that it "serves as a reminder, in our own age of authenticity, that there are other ways to hear and enjoy Baroque music".[6] Timothy Judd of the Listener's Club calls it "colorful, atmospheric, and cinematic"[7]
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