El Maestro

Among the principal monuments of the Spanish Renaissance are seven collections of music for the vihuela, a six-course (string) guitar. The earliest and one of the most important of these is the Libro de inisica de vihuela de inano intitualdo El Maestro. Written by Luis de Milan, a nobleman and musician at the court of Germain de Foix in Valencia, El Maestro ( The Teacher ), published in 1536, contains a voluminous repertory of significant and beautiful music, including very fine vocal and instrumental compositions. Basically of a courtly nature, it includes some of the earliest extant examples of accompanied monody, among them villancicos and romances in Castilian and Portuguese and settings of poetry by Petrarch and other Italians (sonetos). Pavanes, fantasias, and tentos combine to present a fascinating picture of the musical ambiance of the early 16th-century Spanish court, its sophisticated tastes vividly illuminated still further by the texts of the songs themselves. In El Maestro are found the first indications of tempo in the history of music. The notation employed is essentially the same as the lute tablature used in Italy in the early 16th century. In this new edition Dr. Jacobs has followed the most modern methods of transcription, ensuring for the reader or performer the maximum of enjoyment and understanding of this unique repertory.