Makaris - Wisps in the Dell (CD)

In the late-classical era, composers including Beethoven, Weber, and Haydn were commissioned to orchestrate traditional Scottish folk songs in their original English. A lush sampling of these songs are performed here by Makaris, a new early-music super-group (made up of members of ACRONYM and New Vintage Baroque, among others), and headed by soprano Fiona Gillespie. Included are first recordings of arrangements by Pleyel and Hummel, the first English-language recording of a Scottish ballad by Schubert, and never-before-heard alternate versions of two arrangements by Beethoven, along with a world premiere by Makaris bassist Doug Balliett.