Jon Banks Part-time Lecturer, London Metropolitan University and City University, London, UK and Anglia Polytechnic University, Cambridge, UK
All who enjoy the repertoire will find this book stimulating... Early Music Review ... Banks sets out his arguments in a clear and convincing manner. In doing so, he paints a fascinating portrait of musical life in the late 15th century, which makes the book of interest to more than just specialists in the field. There are copious printed musical examples, including several complete pieces, which give a very good idea of how the music might sound. The Consort Banks s work is a welcome addition to the scholarship for the renewed and vigorous discussion it will surely provoke. Early Music Banks's survey of the repertory is exhaustive and meticulous, and his arguments careful; every time I questioned one of his arguments or thought of an alternative explanation, he had anticipated my objection and refuted it thoughtfully. Performers such as myself will find the book immensely useful as a guide to choosing performing forces and coherent concert programs for secular music of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. At the same time, musicological reseachers will find its careful counts and categories useful as a starting point for their own future work. Sixteenth Century Journal