by Marcia Diehl

Recorder specialist Marcia Diehl presents 41 favorite melodies from the Renaissance and early Baroque periods, each with suggested accompaniment chords. This era of music is particularly attractive on the recorder not only because of its lyrical qualities but also because the recorder was already one of the most popular, accessible instruments of the day.

The collection features many dance tunes by Praetorius, Susato, Gervaise and John Playford plus familiar themes like “Greensleeves,” “Drive the Cold Winter Away,” and Thomas Morley’s “It Was a Lover and His Lass,” which may have been used contemporarily onstage with William Shakespeare’s As You Like It. The book closes with two pieces by Beatrice de Dia, a trobairitz or female troubadour who wrote songs of courtly love.