When, in 1584, William Bathe, then just a young student at Oxford, published a tract on the teaching of music, his work became the first musical text book to appear in the English language. No copy of this work now exists, but some years later Bathe produced a new version, now called A brief Introduction to the skill of song. In it Bathe sought to present a new, much simpler way to learn music, in open opposition to the traditional approaches of the day, the "manifold and crabbed, confused, tedious rules", as he puts it. This book, a facsimile of Bathe's work, describes musical methods old and new and will be of great interest to musicologists and players of early music. Introduction by Bernarr Rainbow and published in the series Classic Texts in Music Education.   hardback   ISBN 978-0-863-14022-8

Price:  £25.00

Published in 1896, and revised in 1909, this wonderful book is a catalogue of violin makers compiled from various sources.    

Price:  £8.50

This is one of an on-going series of publications from the Borthwick Insitute for Archives, intended to provide insights into new research concerning the history of Yorkshire and the North of England.   pp 30   ISBN 0-900701-44-7

Price:  £4.00

With Organs, Organists, and Musical Associations An in-depth study of the old churches of London. Includes the exact locations of these old churches (by address)    

Price:  £8.50

Published just two years after his death, this wonderful biography gives a tremendous insight into the life of Brahms.    

Price:  £9.79

A very sweet book with charming colour pictures and songs from the 19th and 20th century.    

Price:  £6.00

There is no "new pill" for learning how to play the violin. This excellent tutorial was written by Berthold Tours (1838-1897), one of the established masters in violin teaching in the 1800s. The book contains an immense amount of information on style and technique, together with 100 graded exercises, many of which are wonderfully tuneful and in duet form.    

Price:  £9.79

Illustrated and described from many sources, together with a list of Italian and Tyrolese violin makers. 29 Illustrations and an example of the first music for lute, fiddle and voice. Translated in full from the German of Abele and Niederheitmann by John Broadhouse.    

Price:  £9.79