The culture of 16th–century lute playing reached the height of its sophistication with its genre of three- and four-voice fantasias and other dense polyphonic intabulations. Among the most prominent exponents of this style was Fabrizio Dentice - a Neapolitan gentleman of high self-esteem and difficult personality who was renowned for his dexterous fingers but considered the title of lute player to be far beneath him, and the Severino family, including Giulio and Giovanni Antonio Severino, two prominent Neapolitan lutenists who, like many others from the region, also travelled to Barcelona and Madrid. Other Neapolitan lutenists such as Francesco Cardone and Luis Maymón are also featured on this disc along with pieces from the 1536 Neapolitan print of Francesco Canova da Milano and pieces by his young student Perino, a visitor of the southern city. While no dance music from any of these sophisticated lutenists has survived, the late 16th–century Barbarino lute book from Naples luckily contains echoes of this less serious genre as well.