'Victor Coehlo has assembled a fine team of collaborators for this excellent collection of essays … All in all, a collection worth having: the essays are thought provoking and of a high standard.' The Lute

This is the first book-length study in any language dedicated specifically to lute, guitar, and vihuela performance. Written by specialists of this music, it is intended for players, teachers, and scholars who are interested both in the history of performance, and in the specific interpretation of lute, guitar and vihuela music from the end of the fifteenth century to approximately 1850. It brings to light various new ideas about performance and technique for a wide range of instruments, including the fifteenth-, sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Italian lute, archlute, theorbo, French Baroque lute, vihuela, and Baroque and classical guitar, as well as for lute-accompanied English and Italian song. The articles in this book decode the unwritten traditions of these instruments, and examine various performance issues, taking a fresh, innovative look at traditional problems.

1. An invitation to the fifteenth-century plectrum lute: the Pesaro manuscript Vladimir Ivanoff
2. Lute tablature instructions in Italy: a survey of the Regole from 1507 to 1759 Dinko Fabris
3. The performance context of the English lute song, 1596 to 1622 Daniel Fischlin
4. Per cantare e sonare: lute song at the end of the sixteenth century Kevin Mason
5. Authority, autonomy, and interpretation in performing seventeenth-century Italian lute music Victor Coelho
6. The soul of the lute: performance in the style brisé Wallace Rave
7. The vihuela: performance practice, style, and context John Griffiths
8. Performing seventeenth-century Italian guitar music: the question of an appropriate stringing Gary Boye
9. Essential issues in performance practices of the Classical guitar, 1779–1840 Richard Savino.

Subject Areas: Techniques of music / music tutorials [AVS]