Dear All, Just a small shameless plug on behalf of Thea Abbott who has just published her biography of the lute pioneer, Diana Poulton, who founded the Lute Society and taught most of the major players of today.
Diana Poulton is best known as one of the 20th century's pioneers of early music. A student of Arnold Dolmetsch, for many years she was the only professional lute-player in England. Her research in the library of the British Museum and in private collections laid the foundations of much of what is most securely known today about the Golden Age of English lute music. The great passion of her life was John Dowland and though the beauty of his music captivated and entranced her, it was the man himself who came to dominate her imagination and dreams. Few of those who recognise her name know that Diana could have taken a completely different path in life. She was one of "the great beauties of the Slade", and began her studies there just after the end of the Great War in 1919. Diana was 'the lady with the lute', making over 400 broadcasts for the BBC giving recitals all over the country, she regularly provided lute music for performances of Shakespeare's plays. Her biography of John Dowland and her edition of his music are still central to lute studies and lute playing. Diana had a much wider social circle of contacts and a much more vivid personal life than many, even her students, ever knew about. Available here: http://www.smokehousepress.co.uk Best wishes, David -- The Smokehouse, 6 Whitwell Road, Norwich, NR1 4HB England. Telephone: + 44 (0)1603 629899 Website: http://www.vanedwards.co.uk To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
