Musical Instruments, Historic, Rare and Unique: The Selection, Introduction and Descriptive Notes - Softcover
Synopsis
Timeless beauty and history meet in rare musical instruments. This book showcases how form and decoration elevate sound, not just function, from ancient masters to early modern luthiers. Two introductory sections frame why ornament matters, tracing decorative impulse across cultures and periods. It highlights a belief that instruments can be lovely to look at as well as to hear, with attention to Egyptian, Greek, and Asian examples and to the ways European makers and oriental influences blended art and craft.
- Rich illustrations of lutes, harps, viols, and keyboard instruments, with plates that emphasize beauty of design.
- Historical context for how decoration reflected culture, status, and technical innovation.
- Discussion of key instrument families, from chiteras and chitarrones to spinet and double spinet forms.
- Notes on notable makers and periods, including how ornament and function intertwined in the workshop.
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