Everyone has heard of ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’, but almost no one knows that his younger brother, Henry Benedict Stuart (1725–1807), grandson of King James II of England and VII of Scotland and the last in the direct line of Jacobite succession, was a major figure in the hierarchy of the Vatican, and an important patron of the arts.

This album presents the hitherto forgotten repertoire composed by the many musicians associated with, and employed by, Henry Benedict.

Sitting on the cusp of the Baroque and the Classical, these pieces likewise tread a delicate path between innocence and grandeur, between charm and formality, and suggest that the Cardinal, for all his power, may have been a rather gentle man.

Little of the music of these five composers has been recorded – this is yet another area where the partnership between musicologist-musicians and Toccata Classics is throwing light on unknown corners of the repertoire.