“Elisabeth von Hessen’s Lute Book” mirrors the musical life and cultural ties at the court of Kassel under the rule of Landgrave Moritz. Compiled between 1605 and 1611 for  the  landgrave’s musically gifted daughter, it consists mainly of dance pieces in  French lute  tablature plus finger exercises,  études , and “  finali ”, which served as basic material for  Improvisations. Among other things, it contains arrangements of works by John  Dowland ,  who twice visited the landgrave’s palace in  Kassel . Victor de  Montbuysson ,  the court  lutenist  and one of the scribes of the collection, brought the latest French style from  his travels.<br>
 A very early instance of figured bass realization on the lute can be found in fifteen Italian monodies by Georg  Schimmelpfennig . The use of  scordatura , later a common feature of  17th-century French music, reveals that the lute book was at the zenith of its  age.<br>
 Our facsimile edition presents not only the 200 written pages but also conveys an impression of the rosettes and floral patterns on the original cover. “All in all, then, this is a fascinating book which will amply repay  study, and still has much to  offer  lutenists  or scholars. The facsimile is  admirably clear and gives some highly interesting  references to place of music and education in the Hessian court and family … a  valuable  addition to any lutenist’s library at any level of experience.”<br>
 (Early Music August 2008, No. 3)<br>