The Lute in Britain has 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 iconography, music sources, and contemporary writings. Undoubtedly, this book will become a standard reference work and should be found in every music library in the world. * Journal of the American Musical Instrument Society * Spring's book is the first attempt to trace a history of the lute in Britain (including Scotland) from the earliest known documents of about 1285 to its decline in the early eighteenth century...A formidable task considering its long and complex history. * Renaissance Quarterly * Performer-scholar Matthew Spring has written the first full-length history of the lute and its repertory to appear in print...For a single scholar to have undertaken such a comprehensive study is remarkable; that he has accomplished it in such a masterly fashion is nothing short of amazing. * Journal of the American Musical Instrument Society * The Lute in Britain has 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 iconography, music sources, and contemporary writings. Undoubtedly, this book will become a standard reference work and should be found in every music library in the world. * Journal of the American Musical Instrument Society * Spring's book is the first attempt to trace a history of the lute in Britain (including Scotland) from the earliest known documents of about 1285 to its decline in the early eighteenth century...A formidable task considering its long and complex history. * Renaissance Quarterly *
