My fondness for Ottorino Respighi’s Lauda per la Nativitá del Signore (Lauds for the Nativity of the Lord) comes from personal experience. Despite a wealth of musical opportunities in my life, few chances arose to play in ensembles. But those I did have are etched in my mind, and this lovely piece was one of them. As time passes, this graceful, short cantata written in 1930 delights me more and more. I hope it will delight you too.

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I met this piece in the early 1990s when I was serving as organist ad interim at Highland Park United Methodist, a marvelous church in Dallas that lies adjacent to Southern Methodist University where I taught. This church has played a large part in the campus’s and city’s life. Suffice it to say that playing there for five years ranks as one of the greatest experiences of my life.

For this particular Christmas our choral director, the glorious, intrepid conductor Bonnie Jean Mouton, decided the choir would present Respighi’s small cantata as the climax of the annual Christmas concert. As I recall, there was some push back since the piece is definitely not a “Medley of Carols” such as an audience might expect. Plus, it was difficult to sing, not just for the soloists, but the choir. Add to that the need to hire an ensemble of instrumentalists (budgets are always an issue), and you see the problems.

But Bonnie Jean persevered and won. Rehearsals were not easy. The choir did not immediately fall in love with the piece. Many of the vocal passages have sparse or no accompaniment. For example, the men singing important passages in parallel thirds better be in tune! The choral writing alternates between a unison texture to division into seven parts. Also, there are extended stretches of pianissimo (extra quiet) singing—something hard to do for an individual singer, much less a choir. The virtuosic coloratura passages for chorus can get sloppy pretty quickly if choristers do not rehearse at home far more than usual.

Finally, the big issue loomed: without the flash, bang, and jingle bells, how would listeners respond to this delicate work? I think we all asked ourselves that question.

Lauda per la Nativitá del Signore was the only sacred work that Respighi (1879-1936) completed. Popular for his blockbuster trilogy The Fountains of Rome (1916), The Pines of Rome (1924), and Roman Festival (1928), Respighi had many sides to his compositional approach. He also had become enamored of the nascent Early Music Revival, particularly as led by the remarkable Polish keyboardist Wanda Landowska (1879-1959) who almost singlehandedly retrieved the harpsichord from the dustbin of history.

Wanting to recreate the Baroque sound while also luxuriating in the beauty of medieval music, Respighi took the next step. He used a tender text attributed to a 13th-century Friar Jacopone da Todi that tells the story of Jesus’s birth from the point of view of the Angels, the Shepherds, and Mary herself. Stylistically, the composer sought to portray the ancientness and purity of Gregorian chant without replicating it. He wrote:

It is my intention not to recreate the exact accents of plainchant, but to utilize the very beautiful harmonic quality of some of these modes, which possess a richness incomparably greater than the more common modern scale. 

He scored the piece for soprano (Angel), mezzo-soprano (Mary), tenor (Shepherd), and chorus, plus the crystal-clear sound of woodwinds (two flutes, piccolo, oboe, English horn, two bassoons), percussion, and piano. The keyboard part was cast for four-hands which I and the other organist split. Respighi gave us a few challenges but mostly our parts were fun (after all, a piano always sounds if you push the right keys—an advantage singers do not have).

Years later I learned that Respighi wanted the stage to represent an Italian stable as found in 15th- and 16th-century paintings and frescoes. Ideally, he hoped the chorus and instrumental ensemble could remain out of sight. Then dancers or mimes representing angels and shepherds would assume “graceful poses” responding to the words sung by the choir. I don’t know how often it is performed that way (we could not have worked that out), but what a lovely concept!

So, here’s what I recommend. If this piece is new to you, aim for two hearings over the next few days (six would be OK too!). Take it for what it is: a pilgrimage into a new-ancient sound, a concise musical voyage through the Angel’s glorious announcement to the hush of the Manger. Even if you become familiar only with the rustic, joyful instrumental opening (replicating the sound of shepherds’ pipes), the initial soprano melody wherein the Angel announces the news to the shepherds, followed by clarification from the chorus of Angels (“His mother, simply clad, has laid him in a manger”), you will have added beautiful music to your palette of seasonal sound.

Or savor the final moments, when the woodwinds lead the piece to its end. The little melody played by two bassoons (22:42) sets up a strong, quiet passage for the chorus of Shepherds. Then, the soprano’s voice (Angel) soars upward and hovers above stepwise changes of harmony (24:24): “Glory to God in the highest.” Introspective singing by the mezzo-soprano (Mary) presents words of joy (“I cradle and kiss the dear Child more beautiful than any lily”). Her melody is undergirded by shimmering choral harmonies. Finally the soprano soars on gossamer wings for the final words: “Hail the birth of the Savior!” Perhaps these passages won’t turn your heart to mush, but they might.

Normally I tour people through countries, not pieces of music. As on a real tour, Respighi’s Lauda per la Nativitá may, or may not, become a favorite. It is different than compositions we tend to hear this time of year. It needs time and space to unfold in the ear. Give it a bit of your time, and you might gain one of the loveliest compositions ever written for Christmas.