During the 16th and 17th Centuries, lutenists were invariably included as part of the musical retinue of Kings, Queens, and Princes. At least one lutenist was also included in households of nobles and landed gentry. These were the "musicians in residence," so to speak. Professional lutenists were a feature of the courts, and their talents were handsomely rewarded. Though England produced only a small amount of printed lute music, it is extremely fortunate that many manuscript books of famous lutenists were not lost or destroyed and are now carefully preserved in museums and libraries. Lutenists not only composed original works for their instrument but arranged popular airs and dances of the period as well. This book contains excellent examples of each type of composition.

"Spring focuses on the lute in Britain, but also includes two chapters devoted to continental developments: one on the transition from medieval to renaissance, the other on renaissance to baroque, and the lute in Britain is never treated in isolation. Six chapters cover all aspects of the lute's history and its music in England from 1285 to well into the eighteenth century, whilst other chapters cover the instrument's early history, the lute in consort, lute song accompaniment, the theorbo, and the lute in Scotland."--Jacket.

In compiling this landmark sourcebook, Finnish guitarists Hannu Annala and Heiki Matlik consulted more than 70 music texts as well as dozens of composer resumes acquired from the musical information centers of several countries. During the writing process, which lasted for more than three years, they received additional information from many modern composers, including Leo Brouwer and Reginald Smith Brindle among others. In addition, several internationally renowned performing guitarists provided valuable information; these include Magnus Andersson (Sweden), Remi Boucher (Canada), Margarita Escarpa (Spain), Aleksander Frauchi (Russia) and David Tanenbaum (USA) among others.The authors' aim was to write a well-structured book with separate chapters for each instrument, such as the Renaissance and Baroque guitar, the Renaissance and Baroque lute, the vihuela, etc. This unique structure enables the reader to easily discover which composers wrote for a certain instrument during any given period.In addition to the composers one would expect to find in such a comprehensive listing, the book documents several historical and modern composers for whom little previous information has been available. the book's list of more than 400 guitar and lute concertos dating from the Baroque era to the present day is a totally unprecedented.Short introductions regarding guitar and lute-like instruments as well as their basic histories are provided at the beginning of the book. the authors hope that the Handbook of Guitar and Lute Composers will serve as a practical guide for both amateurs and professionals, encouraging further study of the history of these instruments and expanding the repertoire heard on today's concert stage.