The Guitar in Stuart England: A Social and Musical History
Christopher Page
Yale University Press, 2017
Thanks to one of my followers once again for sending me this excellent read. It’s filled with a wealth of info on social and musical life in the era as well as score examples, pictures and more. Here is the promotional text from the publisher:
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engaging and original volume, Christopher Page gathers a rich array of portraits, literary works and other, previously unpublished, archival materials in order to create a comprehensive picture of the guitar from its early appearances in Jacobean records, through its heyday at the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.
Here’s a review from Taro Takeuchi via the The Galpin Society Journal:
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.
