An early music dictionary

by Graham Strahle

In this reference work, Graham Strahle has compiled dictionary definitions of musical terms, in English, as used and understood during the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The dictionary contains terms relating to instruments, performance, theory and composition and draws entirely from English sources in the period 1500-1740. The main sources are lexicographic works, mainly general English dictionaries but also Latin, Italian, French and Spanish dictionaries published in England. These give a representation of continental as well as English musical traditions. There are also definitions found in musical treatises and other musical writings of the time. The purpose is to reveal how terms and definitions were understood by musicians of the time, using their own words. --From publisher's description.