"This edition contains seventeen recently discovered ricercars from the Bourdeney Codex, a compendium in score of mid- and late-sixteenth-century polyphony. Although all but one of the ricercars are anonymous in Bourdeney, four of them are attributed to "Giaches" in a concordant source. The editor proposes that fourteen of the pieces are works of the Ferrarese organist Giaches Brumel, that these ricercars are among the most significant instrumental works surviving from the mid-sixteenth century, and that they mark the beginning of a distinctive school of abstract instrumental music culminating in the Fantasie and Capricci of Frescobaldi." --

The scope of John F. Ohl's musicological interests and influence is honored in this wide-ranging collection of essays. Arranged chronologically by subject, the essays cover the history of Western music from the liturgical chants of the Middle Ages to the nineteenth-century symphony and the tonal innovations of the twentieth century. The collection also includes a biography of John F. Ohl, a bibliography of Ohl's publications, and an essay on Ohl by George Frederick Handel.

Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583–1643) occupies a special place in the history of music as the first significant European composer who concentrated his major creative efforts into the realm of instrumental music. In this collection of papers based on the Quadricentennial Frescobaldi Studies Conference, sixteen American and European specialists examine important aspects of the life and works of this composer and of his role in the creation of a new musical language of the Baroque.

This is the first in-depth study in any language exploring the vast cultural range of instrumental music during the Renaissance.

Research in the field of keyboard studies, especially when intimately connected with issues of performance, is often concerned with the immediate working environments and practices of musicians of the past. An important pedagogical tool, the keyboard has served as the ‘workbench’ of countless musicians over the centuries. In the process it has shaped the ways in which many historical musicians achieved their aspirations and went about meeting creative challenges. In recent decades interest has turned towards a contextualized understanding of creative processes in music, and keyboard studies appears well placed to contribute to the exploration of this wider concern. The nineteen essays collected here encompass the range of research in the field, bringing together contributions from performers, organologists and music historians. Questions relevant to issues of creative practice in various historical contexts, and of interpretative issues faced today, form a guiding thread. Its scope is wide-ranging, with contributions covering the mid-sixteenth to early twentieth century. It is also inclusive, encompassing the diverse range of approaches to the field of contemporary keyboard studies. Collectively the essays form a survey of the ways in which the study of keyboard performance can enrich our understanding of musical life in a given period.