Elizabethan Music, Volume 1

Here are six pieces from The Schoole of Musicke (1603) by Thomas Robinson, and five pieces by the ever-popular Anon! All the pieces for both parts are for a 3rd string In F# mimicking the lute tuning but much of what you get is perfectly possible leaving the 3rd at G. However it is a much better option trying the 3rd to F# if you are not used to it, because it might lead you to being able to seamlessly move this music onto a lute, which is eminently more desirable. So, you get The Queen's Goodnight, the variation on a theme that is Twenty Ways Upon the Bells, A Plaine Song, Passamezzo Galliard. A Fantasy for Two Lutes, and A Toy for Two Lutes from the Robinson collection, followed by a Greensleeves set in 2/4, Robin (is to the Greenwood Gone), A Merry Mood, Mr Drewry's Accords, and Bergamasca, all anonymous. It is hard to go wrong with music such as this, it always sounds wonderful on guitars: although written for a more advanced pair of players, it can be attempted and moreover enjoyed by the less talented players. Worth putting on your shopping list. Chris Dumigan (Classical Guitar Magazine)