In the 16th and 17th centuries, the lute played a role in musical life similar to that of the piano in the 19th century. It was the universal instrument for solo music-making, whether the music played was solo music written specially for it, or arrangements of the popular sacred and secular vocal repertoire. It also figured in ensembles and was used to accompany singers. The lute had an aristocratic aura; although it was certainly not unknown among the common people, it was mainly considered to be the instrument of the social elite, the aristocracy and prosperous burghers.

In other art forms enjoyed by the upper circles, such as literature and painting, the lute was a ubiquitous phenomenon. The instrument remained popular in the 17th and 18th centuries, although it was gradually supplanted by the guitar and the harpsichord. In the 16th century and in the early 17th century, the lute played an important part in the culture of the top layer of society in the Netherlands, as it did elsewhere. The young Republic of the Seven United Provinces flourished remarkably in many areas of the arts and sciences. In the first quarter of the 17th century, the art of the lute reached a high-point to equal that of other major cultural centres in Europe. Although the stream of new music for the instrument dried up after 1625, the lute remained prominent in Dutch paintings of that century.

This book wishes to present, for the first time, a study of the position of the lute in what is called the Golden Age in the Netherlands. All aspects of the instrument will be discussed: celebrated and unknown lutenists, professional musicians and talented (or less talented) amateurs, lute music in print and in manuscript, lute builders and the trade in lutes. We will also look at the role of the instrument in literature and art, thus offering a contribution to the cultural history of the Dutch Republic. The book will throw more light on the musical life of the Golden Age, an aspect of that culture which has, until now, been rather underexposed in research.

This study is primarily aimed at bringing together the fruits of existing research.