Fontane di Roma

The first panel of Respighi's Roman trilogy, composed in 1916 and premiered in Rome the following year, portrays four fountains at the hours when their character is most vivid: Valle Giulia at dawn, the Triton in morning, Trevi at midday, the Villa Medici at sunset. The Trevi section surges to a brass climax like Neptune's chariot passing; the close dissolves in twilight and distant bells. It remains a textbook of orchestral color.