Transcribed for guitar by Ben Salfield
Bergmann: 60 pages
This collection is mostly for the guitarist who is largely unfamiliar with the Lute music of the Renaissance and so here are 40 that begin very simply indeed and going to a little bit more difficult, but not too much so. Most of these pieces will be unknown to many players, although they will have come across some before, even if not in this particular version.
One of the most useful and interesting things about this collection is that the final third of the book are the individual notes about each of the 40 pieces in great detail, which I found very useful and which new players will get much enjoyment from reading.
As for the pieces themselves, there are some fabulous titles, often in the original old English, so that No3 is titled The Blacsmitckth, and No6 is called Lighttie Loue Ladyes! The music of course is also in guitar tablature, which bears little resemblance to the Lute tablature, but then again I always feel that a player should get used to staff notation, as it provides so much more information than guitar tab.
The musical references as to where each particular piece was discovered are all given , in case anyone wants to follow them up, but suffice it to say that this collection is ideal for any beginner of this musical period, and there is a great deal of pleasure to be had from the entire volume .
Chris Dumigan
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