Respighi: Ancient Airs and Dances & Trittico Botticelliano

All the music on this enchanting and well-filled disc provides ample evidence of the composer's love affair with the music and art of the Italian Renaissance. The Ancient Airs and Dances were originally works for lute, and Respighi has arranged them for several different chamber orchestras, ranging from just strings, to strings and winds with harpsichord, and a full ensemble including trombones. The Three Botticelli Pictures includes a musical illustration one of the most famous paintings of all time: The Birth of Venus, more colloquially known (thanks to Kurt Vonnegut) as "Venus on the Half Shell." Lively performances of lovely music. - -David Hurwitz