"A Plaine and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musicke" - Thomas Morley 1608

"A Plaine and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musicke. Set downe in forme of a Dialogue."

"Imprinted at London by Humfrey Lownes, Dwelling at Bredstreet hill at the Signe of the Star. 1608"

-Thomas Morley (1557-1602)

-Folio (280 x 185 mm).

-Complete: Title page, [4], 184, [10], [24] pp.

-Allegorical woodcut title, woodcut initials and ornaments, typographic music in "table" format

-Early nineteenth-century blue/green morocco binding, spine lettered in gilt, all text edges gilt (light rubbing). 

-A few marginal repairs, some toning, some minor trimming to text block (not affecting text or music). Otherwise a clean, complete copy. 

The second edition of one the great examples of English music printing, and "Perhaps the most famous musical treatise in the English Language" (The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians).

The lavish title page is rich in allegory and includes the classical figures of Ptolemy, Strabo, and Polybius, alongside representations of Arithmetic, Geometry, and Music. The design reflects the Renaissance view of music as not just a performing art, but also an intellectual and mathematical discipline.

First published in 1597, Thomas Morley’s work remained the standard English manual on singing and composition for generations. Morley was the foremost composer of secular music in Shakesperian England. He was Organist at St Paul's Cathedral and is credited with popularising the Italian Madrigal in England.

This work was dedicated to William Byrd, the most famous English composer of his day, and written as an entertaining dialogue between a teacher and their pupil. The work is celebrated for its musical typography in a table-book format. Vocal parts are printed in different orientations on a double page so that several singers could read and perform from a single copy. Uncommon on the market.

ESTC S115094. STC 18134