''Rispetti e strambotti'' is a work for

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinist ...

composed in 1920 by Gian Francesco Malipiero. The piece was first performed on September 25, 1920, in

Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all ...

; it won the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Award. The piece takes its title from two early forms of Italian

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings ...

; '' rispetti'' were love messages from men to ladies, while '' strambotti'' were roundelays. The piece is a single, coherent work meant to depict various aspects of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

, and is built up of numerous episodic melodic subjects. Among the most significant are those depicting the

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the t ...

and

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasan ...

ry; the former is a sort of

plainchant Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French ''plain-chant''; la, cantus planus) is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in Latin text ...

, while the latter is a robust theme with astringent harmonies.

References

*David Ewen, ''Encyclopedia of Concert Music''. New York; Hill and Wang, 1959. 1920 compositions Compositions by Gian Francesco Malipiero {{classical-composition-stub