Matthew Spring is now a Reader in Music at Bath Spa University. Formerly he taught at London Guildhall University, where he held a three-year Leverhulme Research Fellowship (1989-92), followed by a period as music lecturer at Birmingham University.He performs with a number of Early Music ensembles and has appeared on over 50 recordings.

The Lute in Britain has been beautifully produced by Oxford University Press. The vast amount of information it contains, its presentation, the extremely useful tables of music sources and iconography, and the wonderful selection of illustrations make it will worth the price. A 'must' for scholars of English and Scottish music and the ever-growing number of players in the international lute community, it should also be of interest to instrument makers and researchers for the wealth of information it provides on the physical nature of the instruments, which is meticulously documented by a combination of iconography, music sources, and contemporary writings. Undoubtedly, this book will become a standard reference work and should be found in every music library in the world.