Newerkla has at his disposal a harpsichord, cello, two gambas, two recorders, percussion and a vocalist; these he deploys in various ways to enhance both mood and meaning.

The first two tracks immediately give the flavour of the whole: a pair of lively dances played by full ensemble followed by the beautiful Chì mi na mòr-bheanna (I will see the Great Mountains), sung with real feeling by Elisabeth Kaplan – as indeed are all the songs, which are mostly in Scottish Gaelic. This constant interplay between joy (typically represented by reels and jigs) and sadness (the majority of the songs) finds its counterpart in Newerkla’s arrangements, which range from percussion and voice or recorder through to full consort.

Most effective, too, are the strophic songs where the instrumental texture is gradually built up, usually reflecting a build-up of tension in the narrative – Fine Flowers in the Valley is but one example. As Newerkla says in his booklet notes, the idea here is “to explore the points of contact between court music and popular music in the Scotland of the Renaissance and baroque periods, and not primarily the historically informed performance practice of traditional folk music”. The results are quite marvellous, and sure to have huge “crossover” appeal. WILLIAM YEOMAN

BY YON BONNIE BANKS
Traditional early music of Scotland
Quadriga Consort Nikolaus Newerkla
ORF SACD 479
2006 - 68:20 min.