Giventhevarietyandrichnessofthesixteenth-andseventeenth-centuryEnglish’songscape’,itmightseemunsurprisingtosuggestthatearlymodernsongneedstobeconsideredassung.Whenareaderencountersasonginasonnetsequence,aromance,andevenamasqueoraplay,however,thetendencyistoengagewithitaspoemratherthanasmusicalperformance.Openingupthenotionofsongfromaperformance-basedperspective,TheMatterofSonginEarlyModernEnglandconsiderstheimplicationsofreadingsongnotsimplyaslyrictextbutasanembodiedandgenderedmusicalpractice.Animatingthetracesofsongpreservedinphysiologicalandphilosophicalcommentaries,singinghandbooks,poetictreatises,andliterarytextsrangingfromMarySidneyHerbert’sPsalmestoJohnMilton’sComus,thebookconfrontssong’sephemerality,itslexicalandsoniccapriciousness,anditsairysubstance.Thesefeaturescanresistcriticalanalysisbutwerevitaltosong’saffectiveworkingsintheearlymodernperiod.Thevolumeforegroundstheneedtoattendmuchmorecloselytotheembodiedandmusicaldimensionsofliteraryproductionandcirculationinsixteenth-andseventeenth-centuryEngland.Italsomakesanimportantandtimelycontributiontoourunderstandingofwomen’sengagementwithsongaswritersandasperformers.AcompanionrecordingoffourteensongsfeaturingLarson(soprano)andLucasHarris(lute)bringstheproject’sinnovativemethodologyandcentralcasestudiestolife.
