Introduction

This volume presents the first published version of John Taverner’s Gresham College music lectures, which were composed in 1611 or shortly thereafter. The lectures exist in a single manuscript in the British Library (Sloane MS 2329) that has rarely been cited in studies of English Renaissance music history, even though it comprises what may be the only extant text of a complete university music course in Renaissance England. In keeping with the standard requirements for Gresham professors, Taverner delivered his lectures in both English and Latin, and the manuscript preserves both versions. At some point, Taverner or a later owner of the manuscript entitled the lectures De Ortu & Progressu Artis Musicæ, Tractat: Histor: (“A Treatise or History of the Origin and Progress of the Art of Music”), and it is possible that Taverner intended to publish his lectures. In the treatise, Taverner takes a historical, humanist approach to music education, eschewing both mathematical approaches and instruction in musical composition or performance. Accordingly, the treatise relies heavily on classical and early Christian authorities, both in Greek and Latin texts, while regularly lamenting the loss of musical performances and methods as they were believed to have existed in antiquity. In this respect, Taverner’s treatise constitutes a unique link between the humanist laus musicae tradition and the growing demand for utilitarian, or “practical,” music instruction.