Respighi: Belkis, Queen of Sheba (Orchestral Suite) / Metamorphoseon (Theme & Variations)

Belkis, Queen of Sheba was the Romantic musical equivalent of those Hollywood Roman empire/Bible epics like The Ten Commandments or Spartacus. It has never been recorded complete, but the suite of four movements extracted by the composer gives a good idea of what a spectacle it must have been. It sounds a lot like movie music, in fact, and that's a complement. Metamorphoseon, by contrast, is a brilliant theme and variations on a Gregorian tune that was commissioned for the 50th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Its neglect is inexplicable, unless it's due to the fact that it requires an organ at the end, which makes it impractical for many orchestras. These performances are thrilling, and so is the sound. --David Hurwitz