Quartetto dorico (1924)

Energico – allegro moderato – moderato – energico

Respighi was not, in the ordinary sense, a progressive composer. It is possible, however, to progress by going backwards – as Respighi did with his early Vitali and Tartini arrangements and his Concerto all’antica, all of which were written years before Prokofiev and Stravinsky, the official prophets of neo-classicism, thought of doing the same sort of thing. Just when the neo-classical movement was becoming trendy, in fact, he went even further back into history by adopting ancient church modes, as an alternative to diatonic harmonies, in such works as the Concerto gregoriano in 1922, the Quartetto dorico in 1924 and the Concerto in modo misolidio in 1925.

The peculiarity of the Dorian mode is that it resembles a minor scale with the sixth degree raised a semitone, giving melodies and harmonies based on it a distinctive flavour – like that of the theme presented in emphatic unison in the Energico opening bars of the Quartetto dorico. The flavour is not unique to this work, of course: the Dorian mode is a prominent feature of folk song too, including the English variety. That explains why, when Respighi comes to his more intimate second main theme, with its viola colouring and ethereal harmonies, British ears seem to detect echoes of Vaughan Williams. Anyway, these two themes are the principal material of a construction which, though cast in a single movement, includes a scherzando episode, with provocative rhythms and deftly scored contrapuntal textures, and a slow-movement equivalent in the extended lyrical episode that precedes the return of the opening Energico tempo and a final emphatic recall of the opening theme in unison.