Cypress Choral Music Johnnie Cope - Scottish/Sirett - SATB

Music: Scottish Folk Song
Arranger: Mark Sirett
Format: Choral Octavo
Voicing: SATB with piano accompaniment

The Scottish folk song gives an account from the Jacobite viewpoint of the Battle of Prestonpans. In the battle, which took place during the Second Jacobite uprising, Sir John Copewas the commander of the government troops, and was defeated in a dawn attack by the Jacobites.

The song includes several apocryphal incidents, including challenges conveyed by letters between Cope and his rival Bonnie Prince Charlie, as well as accurate accounts of Cope's cowardice. It also includes an account of him fleeing from the battle all the way back to Berwick, being the messenger of his own defeat, which is also true. The battle was a decisive victory for the Jacobites.