Wherever this anthology was conceived, the noise of barrel-scraping must have been loud throughout the land. Even the title, ‘Verdi Discoveries’, is something a misnomer. The short, essentially formulaic, preludes to the original versions of Simon Boccanegra (1857) and La forza del destino (1862) are certainly not discoveries, nor is the I Lombardi prelude (a morceau de concert for violin and orchestra) or the theatrically unusable pot-pourri of ideas from Aida which Verdi assembled as a so-called overture after the first performance in Cairo.

At least these pieces have some musical merit, which is more than can said for the three instrumental ‘discoveries’. The most pleasing of these, Canto di Virginia, a set of variations for oboe and orchestra, is actually the work of Giacomo Mori. (What we have is Verdi’s orchestration). As for the desperately uninteresting Capriccio for bassoon and orchestra with which the collection ends, this, as the booklet admits, is almost certainly not by Verdi. The Variations for piano and orchestra, a largely vapid piece which Jean-Yves Thibaudet has been hauled in to play, also has a questionable provenance, though here the piano part is Verdi’s.

The oddest discovery is a Prelude to Otello (an impossible concept, surely) which Verdi is said to have given to the Spada family after the Rome première of Falstaff. It is listed as ‘attributed’ to Verdi. It begins with a phrase from Iago’s ‘Credo’ and continues in the manner of one of those musical spoofs Franz Reizenstein used to write for the Gerard Hoffnung concerts in the 1950s.

The early Sinfonia in C is mildly diverting and the Adagiofor trumpet and orchestra will go down a treat with aficionados of brass band playing. It is not quite in the same league as the signature tune to Coronation Street but very nearly.

The orchestral playing is wonderfully spruce and there is some accomplished solo playing, not least by oboist Alessandro Potenza. That said, I can’t imagine even the most devoted Verdian wanting to play the collection through more than once.