Catherine Bott, Concerto Caledonia - The Lion of Scotland: Cantatas by John Clerk of Penicuik (1998)

Tracklist

01. Dic mihi saeve puer
02. Leo Scotiae irritatus
03. Miserere mei, Deus
04. Sonata a violino solo
05. Eheu! quam diris hominis
06. Odo di mesto intorno: I. Symphonia di J Clerk
07. Odo di mesto intorno: II. Recit. Odo di mesto intorno – Aria. Ahi sì, v'intendo sì
08. Odo di mesto intorno: III. Recit. Parte l'Anglicano Campione – Aria. Maiore accrese il foco
09. Odo di mesto intorno: IV. Recit. Vanne, ma in bianchi lini – Aria. Alla battaglia
10. Odo di mesto intorno: V. Recit. Alla assalto – Aria. Amoretti ch'intorno scherzate
11. Odo di mesto intorno: VI. Recit. Ma dopo tai conflitti – Aria. Le catene d'Amor

This is the first recording of any of Clerk's cantatas which are among the finest contributions to baroque music from these islands from a man of great cultural significance and with a crucial place in the history of Scottish culture. Clerk studied in Rome under Corelli and Pasquini and was also a lawyer, judge, amateur architect, artist, poet and landscape gardener. A great deal more fascinating information about him is printed in the CD booklet.

Clerk had a natural melodic gift and his vocal writing is magnificent: intense, sensuous, varied. He enhances his texts with subtle illustrative touches, from a ground bass representing Fortune's wheel, to delicate violin trills depicting hovering cupids. Leo Scotiae irritatus commemorates an ill-fated claim by Scotland to colonize the Panama isthmus, an enterprise which led to conflict with the English and the Spanish. Dic mihi confesses to a somewhat ambivalent sexuality.

Clerk's direct heir in the male line, the present Sir John Clerk of Penicuik, still lives at Penicuik House, and it is with his permission that the editions used here were made from Clerk's original manuscripts.

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