The Lute in Britain A History of the Instrument and Its Music [Paperback]

The lute was one of the most important instruments in use in Europe from late medieval times up to the eighteenth century. Despite its acknowledged importance, this study is the first ever comprehensive work on the instrument and its music, apart from performance studies or bibliographical and reference publications. The book focuses on the lute's history, but also contains chapters on the lute in concert, lute song accompaniment, the thearbo, and the lute in Scotland. Written for the music student, the serious listener, the player, maker, and lute enthusiast, Spring makes available for the first time over 40 years of musical scholarship previously the preserve of academic journals.

Note to the Reader
1. Introduction
2. The Lute in England before 1500
3. From Medieval to Renaissance: A Continental Excursus, 1480-1530
4. The Early and Mid-Renaissance Periods (1500-1580)
5. The Golden Age, Part I (1580-1603)
6. The Lute in Consort
7. The Golden Age, Part II (1603-1625)
8. The Lute in Song Accompaniment
9. From Renaissance to Baroque: A Continental Excursus, 1600-1650
10. The Caroline and the Commonwealth Periods (1625-1660)
11. The Theorbo
12. The Decline of the Lute in England after 1660
13. Scottish Lute Music
Bibliography
Manuscripts
Printed Music
Book, Theses, and Articles
Index

The Lute in Britainhas been beautifully produced by Oxford University Press. The vast amount of information it contains, its presentation, the extremely useful tables of music sources and iconography, and the wonderful selection of illustrations make it will worth the price. A 'must' for scholars of English and Scottish music and the ever-growing number of players in the international lute community, it should also be of interest to instrument makers and researchers for the wealth of information it provides on the physical nature of the instruments, which is meticulously documented by a combination of iconographylCß