The music of the sixteenth century has been "rediscovered" regularly since its composition. It was an especially fertile period for English music in particular, and to put the century in a historical and musicological perspective, this volume spans the era from 1485 to 1625, although in order to provide context and perspective the contributors range back to the middle of the fifteenth century and towards the end on the seventeenth.

The book opens with a history of music and musicians in Tudor England, covering composition and performance, as well as the changing functions of...