Respighi set great store by the Concerto gregoriano and was distressed by its failure with critics and public. It is quite easy to understand both his attitude and theirs. If he wanted, which may well have been the case, to write a concerto rooted in an ancient past yet not an obviously derivative pastiche; if he felt that flamboyantly violinistic gesture would be out of place in such a work, then he may be said to have succeeded on both counts. Yet to call a concerto 'Gregorian' but approach no closer to genuine chant than a sort of wistful modality risks offending those with a taste for 'early music', while to harmonize and score the result so richly and beautifully is to provide an obvious setting for a virtuosity that never arrives. It has a lyrical serenity that is attractive, however, as is its insistence that the solo instrument is fundamentally a singer, not an acrobat. Its occasional moments of would-be grandeur are not convincing; reticent charm is its strongest suit.
The Poema autunnale has rather more to satisfy the fiddle-fancier and a good deal for those to whom the name Respighi promises orchestral opulence. Its themes are not strongly memorable, though the first allegro offers a classic example of how a composer as clever as Respighi can almost convince you that an expert deployment of violin figuration can make up for the absence of a real tune. Later on, there's a no less classic instance of a theme so exquisitely accompanied that you could swear that it's finer than it is. Both pieces are beautifully played, with a shrewd understanding of the difference between showing this music in the best possible light and weakening it by overstatement.
The colourful and vociferous Ballata delle gnomidi, offering approximately equal measures of luscious bacchanale, grotesque scherzo and sumptuous dawn-music, is the nearest thing here to the popular Respighi of the Roman pictures. Choice between Geoffrey Simon's excellent account and Downes's (even more exuberant at times, and a bit more light and shade) can safely rest on whether or not you want a cassette (Cala offer one, Chandos do not) or on couplings: Simon's are the attractive Trittico botticelliano and a couple of interesting rarities.'