David Lasocki, Indiana University-Bloomington, USA and Roger Prior, The Queen's University, Belfast, UK

• Contents: Part One: Family Affairs: From Venice to England; The Charterhouse and After; The Second Generation; The Third Generation; Economic Affairs, Privileges and Social Standing; The Bassano’s Jewish Identity; Part Two: The Dark Lady: Emilia Bassano and Alphonso Lanier; Was Emilia Bassano the Dark Lady of Shakespeare’s Sonnets?; Part Three: Musical Affairs: Performing I: The Court Recorder Consort; Performing II: Other Instruments; Composing; Instrument Making and Repairing; Part Four: Concluding: Reflections; Appendix I: Music and the English Bassanos after 1665; Appendix II: Jacomo and the Venetian Bassanos; Bibliography; Index.

’ altogether a model of lucidity...through his command of his minutely researched material, his commitment to his subject, and his lively style, Lasocki suceeds in engaging his reader's attention....the music chapters on their own make this book worth while...intriguing and satisfying.’ Anthony Rowland-Jones, Leading Notes ’This is an extremely important contribution to our understanding of musical life in the English Court and I commend it without hesitation.... The wealth of information contained in this volume is reason enough for buying it.’ Historic Brass Society Journal ’A tour de force of historical investigation.’ The Consort ’David Lasocki’s excellent study provides a remarkable and detailed overview of this family. Lasocki writes in a fluid narrative style, with thorough detail and rigorous documentation.’ Notes ’The whole is thoroughly researched, and provides a valuable insight into how music at Court was organized’ Galpin Society Journal ’The importance of the Bassano family in English musical life means that no one who is interested in the broader subject can afford to ignore this important contribution.’ Journal of the American Musical Instrument Society ’Its a book that many of us know and which many of us admire, undoubtedly a major work of research and scholarship of the sort that we expect from these publishers, one that will become a mine for many other reseachers to quarry, and indeed one that already has so become.........the book teems with facts which give us a vast amount of information about musical life at the Tudor court...........if you don't already know the book, get it and read it, both to make your own mind up on these issues and because it is an essential historical record.’ FoMRHI Quarterly, No. 92