Carolyn Sparey is a Scotish violist — she played at the London Sinfonietta, the Academy of St Martins in the Field, the English Chamber Orchestra, and as principal violist at the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the BBCSSO. She started composing after leaving the BBCSSO.
The Lion of Scotland: Cantatas by John Clerk of Penicuick
from: Hyperion UK
Binding: Audio CD EAN: 0034571170077 Format: Import Item Dimensions:50500575 Label: Hyperion UK Manufacturer: Hyperion UK Number Of Discs: 1 Publisher: Hyperion UK Release Date: June 09, 1998 Studio: Hyperion UK
Disc 1:
Dic mihi saeve puer
Leo Scotiae irritatus
Miserere mei, Deus
Sonata a violino solo
Eheu! quam diris hominis
Odo di mesto intorno: Symphonia di J Clerk
Odo di mesto intorno: Odo di mesto intorno; Ahi si, v'intendo si
Odo di mesto intorno: Parte l'Anglicano Campione; Maiore accresse il foco
Odo di mesto intorno: Vanne, ma in bianchi lini; Alla battaglia
Odo di mesto intorno: Alla assalto; Amoretti ch'intorno scherzate
Odo di mesto intorno: Ma dopo tai conflitti; Le catene d'Amor
Amazon.com: Here's a perfect "guess-the-composer" recording: is it Monteverdi, is it Bach, is it Purcell? The overall caliber of this music by 18th-century Scottish musician-lawyer-architect-landscape gardener John Clerk, which receives its recorded premiere on this disc, suggests a composer of lesser but respectable talent who infuses his scores with periodic moments of brilliance and masterful vocal writing. Most remarkable is Clerk's pervasive use of number symbolism, a defining structural feature that imbues nearly all of his works with extramusical meaning. Clerk's years of study with Corelli in Rome are evident in his music's many Italianate mannerisms. His works include these solo-voice cantatas, which cover a variety of subjects--love's pains and pleasures, spiritual repentance, a wedding celebration, and Scottish colonization. Soprano Catherine Bott, who often sounds strangely like Emma Kirkby, proves a sensitive and enthusiastic interpreter, ably assisted by the Concerto Caledonia ensemble and a skilled recording team. --David Vernier