As 21st century lute players, we are among the first generation of performers to have access to dozens of sporadic lute manuscripts right at our fingertips. This is largely thanks to the many hard working and dedicated libraries and digitisers who are helping to share and preserve these treasures for generations to come. The collection listed below is an ongoing project, presented in format that I find easy to search, view and download.

The benefits of performing from historic manuscripts (over modern editions) are too numerous to list here, but suffice to say, the less dilution that occurs between the original manuscript and the modern performing edition, the more easily one is able to understand and interpret the original intent of the composer. These manuscripts are also an essential resource used for ‘spot checking’ modern editions for their accuracy or curious fingerings.

To keep up-to-date with new arrivals and additions to the collection, please consider supporting the page on any of the following social media platforms. There is a considerable on-going hosting expense to maintain this collection, and your support is greatly appreciated!