Delos Diary

Britain's RAC Foundation for Motoring issues safe-driving bulletins on a regular basis. A recent release lists five tunes that should not be played while driving… the implication being that exposure to these melodies could encourage reckless driving, excessive speed and general lawlessness. Two of the five are classical: Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries and the Dies Irae from Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem.
I find it hard to believe that either of these selections could turn a classical music-loving motorist into a menace. Visions of drivers as Valkyries carrying dead pedestrians draped over their hoods on the way to a drive-in Valhalla come to mind. Also, Verdi's dire warnings of eternal damnation in his Dies Irae would seem to encourage better rather than more reckless driving.
To play it safe, however, you can avoid these adrenalin-rousing selections and, instead, opt for any number of Delos CD soothers.
How about Mozart Adagios (DE 3243), In a Quiet Cathedral (DE 3145) or Music of Hildegard von Bingen, Voices of Angels (DE 3219)?
Of course, there's always the possibility of becoming so sedated by the music that you fall asleep at the wheel. So do include an occasional rouser in your car's CD changer. Perhaps DE 3328, the Khachaturian Centennial Album, which is loud enough in part to rouse the dead.