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Shirley Sharon-Zisser wrote: > My pastoral instuments, emotionally, intellectually, > and historically, are the reed and orpharion. The two are erotically > slanted in their theorizations in sixteenth-century books on musical > theory (c.f. Barley's *Book of Tabliture* and its instructions as to > stroking the belly of the orpharion) and translations of pastoral > (c.f. the "reed" in the 1588 traslation of Theocritus's Idylls and > fraunces' translation of Virgil's second eclogue). Barley's book was, of course, the first publication to include lute music by John Dowland (and he was not at all pleased!). It should also be pointed out that the orpharion was something of a rarity, whereas lutes were relatively common. I should also point out that if it's sensuality you are after, then the lute is much to be preferred! But there are much more serious issues here. I would suggest that the shepherd's "reed" was a pastoral convention for what was, in reality, the proper instrument of Apollo. At the time of Theocritus that would be the lyre or kithara - in Spenser's age, the lute. Barley's book was the beginning of an avalanche of such publications. That was all to do with the "patent" for publishing music in England at the time, which had been granted to Byrd, and Tallis, in 1575. Byrd, having used it little, passed his right to Thomas Morley. I know I digress, but I mention this partly because Morley, whose early career was somewhat chequered, may well have been a candidate for the spy "Marley" who has been mentioned in previous posts. Back to my point. I imagine that all the worthies whose names have been mentioned recently would have taken the ability, to read, and play from, lute tablature, for granted. For the published books, and manuscripts, thereof, were not only used to transmit new "compositions" for the lute. Tablature was used to record music in general. Yet, I suspect that few people are now fluent in the language of tablature. To read Renaissance poetry without the music seems strange to me. Andy %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%