"Extremely ambitious, and the results successful in nearly every respect....This is a fascinating and very readable work of musicology, and it is not likely to be supplanted in the foreseeable future."--Choice

"Fills a gaping void in the available modern literature on the early violin....[Holman's] fascinating, stimulating and splendidly produced volume will be of great value not only to scholars of Tudor and Stuart music, but also to historians, string players and anyone involved in performing music of the period. It is a veritable mind of information and adds considerably to our sympathy and interest in an undeniably remarkable period of transformation in English music."--Strad

"Nearly a quarter century ago, when Peter Holman was still a student, Thurston Dart told him that the history of the origin of the violin in England could not be written for lack of surviving historical sources, music, and instruments. Now Holman triumphantly proves his distinguished teacher wrong with a seminal study that generously maps for the first time a fascinating terra incognita. This is required reading for anyone interested in Renaissance and Baroque instrumental music, or in the art of piecing together a convincing historical narrative from fragmentary, widely-scattered information."--Neal Zaslaw, Cornell University

"Scholars will happily pore over the academic documentation while others enjoy traversing the rich road of English musical history....References are abundant and clearly identified. Scholarship is thorough. Subject matter is more greatly varied than the title suggests. And the writing is pleasantly readable....Four and Twenty Fiddlers is one of the most highly recommended "reads" of recent early music publications."--Early Music Newsletter

"This is a study of magnificent proportions which has reoriented our perspectives of English baroque music beyond the absorbing discoveries of the violin's widespread use in court and country."--The Musical Times

"A very special book...much detailed information lurks between these covers: the many tables and lists, in which evidence is cited very precisely, will be a boon to other scholars....The reader who can resist applauding when the seemingly inevitable punch-line is reached much be rare indeed....In this volume Holman has succeeded in thoroughly mining what evidence there is and in making exquisite sense of it."--Notes