The lute played a central role in the music of the 16th and much of the 17th century. While the organ played a leading role in church music, the lute was the most important solo instrument in secular music of the time. Apart from the organ, the lute was the most prestigious instrument of the 16th century and was surpassed in popularity and use by the harpsichord at the end of the 17th century. Nicolas Vallet, a Frenchman living in Amsterdam, described it as "the lute, rightly the king of all instruments".

Lute players of the 16th and 17th centuries could be divided into two categories. The first category comprised wealthy amateurs who regarded lute playing as an elegant hobby; the second category consisted of professional lute players who shared their bourgeois status with other craftsmen such as painters and furniture makers.

The lute repertoire of the 16th and 17th centuries encompasses a wide range of musical works, including Arrangements of secular and non-secular songs from all Western European countries, either for solo lute or with lute accompaniment. Arrangements of existing dances and new compositions for dances, such as pavans, gaillards, passemezzi and allemandes. Arrangements and imitations of polyphonic instrumental music: fantasies and ricercares.

Programmatic compositions such as depictions of field battles (batailles) and carillons. Compositions that are usually referred to as preludes and are intended to show the instrument in all its technical splendor. This rich selection of lute music composed in the Netherlands includes works by the composers Sweelinck, Adriaensen, Van Den Hove, Huwet, Valerius and Vallet.

Played by one of the most important lutenists of the time, Toyohiko Satoh. New edition of a recording from 1990, originally released on the NM Classics label.