Routledge Consort Suites and Dance Music in German-Speaking Europe 1648-1700

This scholarly volume examines consort suites and dance music composed by town musicians across German-speaking Europe during the seventeenth century, an area largely overlooked in modern musicological study. The book provides detailed analysis of working conditions in German towns and addresses the challenges posed by untrained travelling musicians of the era. A central focus explores how town suites were organised, assembled and published in carefully ordered printed collections, challenging conventional assumptions about the classical suite structure. This companion work offers valuable insights into the musical practices, social contexts and compositional approaches that shaped chamber music performance during this pivotal period in European music history.