A lute of exquisite workmanship and beauty is crafted in Italy in the dark age of the mid 15th century by a master luthier, Francesco Ippolito da Cremona the Renaissance musician fated to play it to great acclaim, the bulk of his musical legacy composed upon it. But this lute is more than mere musical instrument; it is a memorial to love lost in a brutal tragedy. By the passion invested in it by its maker, and its embodiment of the relics of tormented love, it is imbued with the power to enchant, its enchantment released by the hands of its destined player.
Against the evidence of history, the lute survives to the present day and along with a rare manuscript of Francesco Ippolito lute tablature, falls into the hands of Bob Roberts, an incurably romantic middle-class professional whose escape from a deeply unromantic life is to immerse himself in the lute music of the Renaissance. The lute is an unexceptional wreck when Bob acquires it, but he commissions its restoration and gradually its provenance is unveiled, the final revelation astonishing.
The lute and Ippolitos music exert a powerful influence upon Bobs life that hints of deep unrest and a vague connection with lives long gone, as if lute and tablature combine in a conduit through which spiritual energy moves from past to present.
This is a story of music across the ages, of obsession and betrayal, of destiny and, above all, of true love.
