Love Is the Cause: Scottish Tunes for Viola da gamba & baroque Guitar

Featuring

Jonathan Dunford
Rob MacKillop
Anonymous (Traditional)
Anonymous
Anonymous (mid 17th century)
Anonymous (late 17th century)

Did you know?

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Recording & Production

The album was recorded in February 2009 at Liberton House, a largely 17th-century house on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Compositional Technique

Scottish 17th-century manuscripts for instruments like lute, cittern, viol, and violin share a common repertoire of song and dance arrangements.

Composition History

William Thomson's collection of Scots songs, Orpheus Caledonius, published in 1725, was a 'greatest hits' package that defined Scots Song for the next 150 years.

Interpretation

The viol arrangements in the Leyden manuscript prioritize the tune, with only occasional hints of underlying harmony, reflecting a preference for a vocal-like performance.

Historical Context

Following King James's move to England in 1603, Scottish musicians began to record arrangements of popular native songs and dances, laying the groundwork for Scotland's national music.

Instruments

The 'lyra viol' was a performance practice, common in 17th-century Scotland and Europe, using a smaller bass viol tuned in various ways and notated in tablature.

Recording & Production

Liberton House, where the recording took place, is said to have several apparitions, including a Cavalier, a French nobleman named Pierre, and a female member of the Little family.