Lovesick

"The experience of being lovesick is universal. We are not the first to encounter it and
there is no place safe from feeling this particular brand of melancholy. A favourite topic in
art since the medieval period, museums are bursting with portrayals of love's rebuke, and
lovesickness has been studied as a legitimate medical illness, not least of all by Sigmund
Freud who called it 'a kind of craziness'. The 17th century was a unique period when feeling
these bittersweet emotions was embraced as fuel for artistic expression. Love triggers an
amphetamine-like euphoria in a dozen regions of the brain, similar to cocaine, dopamine,
and oxytocin. In the thralls of an amorous high, one easily forgets the opposite of that
ecstasy; unrequited or faded love that brings a despair all its own, causing depression,
confusion, apathy, mood swings, and insomnia - the physical manifestation of heartbreak" - Randall Scotting

His second album on Signum Records, counter-tenor Randall Scotting is joined by celebrated lutenist Stephen Stubbs for a collection of anti-Valentine's songs focussing on heartbreak and loss from the 17th century.

"Perhaps there is no cure for lovesickness; but we are confident that this album will be
comfort for all those who have loved, lost, and hope to love again". - Wendy Heller, Chair, Dept of Music, Princeton University.

Stephen Stubbs plays on three instruments at A=415 Hz; a 10-course bass lute by Lawrence K.
Brown, a baroque guitar by Ivo Magherini, and a 10-course renaissance lute by Stephen Barbe