The study of popular hymnody is remote not only from contemporary
experience but also from very many contemporary scholars. A great deal
of this remove stems from the complicated origins and history of this
important genre. The Monophonic Lauda aims to present for the first
time an English study of the form, as such a text has not been available
before. This also necessitates an exploration of previous scholarship on
the lauda, though the book is not devoted to this particular exercise.
The volume is well illustrated, including musical notation and
black-and-white plates.