Although unjustly neglected by modern writers, William Bathe‘s contributions to music pedagogy in late sixteenth-century England were profound. Bathe‘s A Briefe Introduction to the Skill of Song (1596) not only includes the first explication of a four-syllable, non-hexachordal solmization method published by an English writer (a system similar to that which would become the standard in England during the seventeenth century) but also outlines a combinatorial method for composing canons that is remarkably forward-looking in both conception and design. In addition to providing the first modern edition of Bathe‘s treatise, the volume examines the complicated compilation and publication histories of the book, the historical and theoretical foundations of Bathe‘s contributions, and the relationship between the 1596 book and Bathe‘s 1584 treatise A Briefe Introduction to the True Arte of Musicke (the extant text of which is included as an appendix).

This duel-language book contains the first English-language translation of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's "Letters From Switzerland" to appear in over 100 years-- and it is the only version now in print. Also included is an introduction, the German-language text, a glossary, interpretive essay, selected bibliography, plus assorted photos and maps [180 pages]. Goethe's expedition through Switzerland and the Savoy during the autumn 1779 traversed a wild Alpine landscape decades before it became the popular "playground of Europe" for thrill-seeking Victorian travelers. For Germany's greatest literary figure, the rugged Alpine landscape was both a place of spiritual and scientific wonder, and an environment that would provide inspiration for many of Goethe's best loved writings.