The Guitar in Stuart England
A Social and Musical History
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Cambridge University Press
Published:22nd Aug '19
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
The guitar is the most played instrument in the West. This is the first account of its rise in Stuart England.
The guitar is the most played instrument in the West. This book charts its success in England during the seventeenth century, a time of great political upheaval in England. It gathers a rich array of portraits, archival materials and literary works, and will interest guitar enthusiasts as well as music historians.This is the first history of the guitar during the reign of the Stuarts, a time of great political and social upheaval in England. In this engaging and original volume, Christopher Page gathers a rich array of portraits, literary works and other, previously unpublished, archival materials in order to create a comprehensive picture of the guitar from its early appearances in Jacobean records, through its heyday at the Restoration court in Whitehall, to its decline in the first decades of the eighteenth century. The book explores the passion of Charles II himself for the guitar, and that of Samuel Pepys, who commissioned the largest repertoire of guitar-accompanied song to survive from baroque Europe. Written in Page's characteristically approachable style, this volume will appeal to general readers as well as to music historians and guitar specialists.
'Reading Christopher Page's monograph is not only a wonderful learning process, but also an emotionally moving experience. His sincere attitude, along with a lively wit, revitalizes the history of the old musical instrument, brings its music and highlights its connections to our century. … this is the most useful and superb source, not only for people interested in early guitar music, but anybody fascinated with British history.' Taro Takeuchi, The Galpin Society Journal
ISBN: 9781108412100
Dimensions: 245mm x 170mm x 17mm
Weight: 600g
308 pages