Description
Book SynopsisUses the rare depictions of musical instruments and musical sources found on the Eglantine Table to understand the musical life of the Elizabethan age and its connection to aspects of culture now treated as separate disciplines of historical study. The reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603) has often been regarded as the Golden Age of English music. Many works of high quality, both vocal and instrumental, were composed and performed by native and immigrant musicians, while balladry and minstrelsy flourished in hall, street and alehouse. No single source of the sixteenth century presents this rich musical culture more vividly than the inlaid surface of the Eglantine Table. This astonishing piece of furniture was made in the late 1560s for the family of Elizabeth or 'Bess' of Hardwick, Countess of Shrewsbury (1527-1608). The upper surface bears a wealth of marquetry that depicts, amidst the briar roses and other plants, numerous Elizabethan musical instruments in exquisite detail together with open books or scrolls of music with legible notation. Given that depictions of musical instruments and musical sources are rare in all artistic media of the Elizabethan period, the Eglantine Table is a very important resource for understanding the musical life of the age and its connection to aspects of culture now treated separately in disciplines such as art history, social and political history or the study of material culture. This volume assembles a group of leading scholars in the history of instruments and associated fields to ground future research upon the most expert assessment of the depicted instruments, the music and the decorative imagery that is currently attainable. A final section of the book takes a broad view, placing the Table and the musical components of its decoration in relation to the full range of Elizabethan musical life.
Trade ReviewThe book is beautifully produced [...] copiously illustrated throughout [...] the book represents a major contribution to knowledge of the cultural history of England during the early years of Elizabeth I's reign. * JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICAL INSTRUMENT SOCIETY *
It is a delight to see an entire book devoted to this one item from myriad viewpoints. -- JOURNAL OF BRITISH STUDIES
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Foreword Acknowledgements Note to the Reader Abbreviations Introducing the Eglantine Table The Table: models and artistic context Botany, the Table and Hardwick New Hall The playing cards and gaming boards The writing implements The music in staff notation The book of lute tablature 'A full and lively pourtraiture': The Table as evidence for Tudor musical instruments The bowed instruments and bows The gittern or guitar The cittern The lute The harp The wind instruments The Table and the music of the 1560s Pipers, Fiddlers and the Musical Lives of the Majority Tables of the Mind Appendix 1: The renovation of the Eglantine Table by Tankerdale Ltd, 1996 Appendix 2: The Table in the context of furnishings in Bess of Hardwick's houses Glossary List of Contributors Select Bibliography Index
