spikes, you've got me going through all my music now, looking for suitable recordings to suggest.

You might listen to a bit of EDDA: myths from medieval Iceland. It's a musical interpretation of the great myth cycle as performed by Sequentia. Where there are lyrics, it's in Old Norse, so I'm willing to bet you wouldn't be too distracted by that.
Another that I'm listening to right now which mey fit the bill is violinist Regina Carter's recording Paganini: after a dream. It has tracks by Ravel, Bonfá, Debussy, Fauré, Morricone, and a few others. Anyhow, she's a remarkable musician rendering the masters in stellar phonics.