Ludwig Iselin (born July 2, 1559, in Basel; died December 20, 1612, ibid.) was a prominent Swiss legal scholar, university professor, rector of the University of Basel, and a passionate lutenist. Born into an influential patrician family in Basel, he was raised by his uncle, the famous humanist and art collector Basilius Amerbach, after his father died early of the plague. Iselin studied law in Geneva, Bourges, and Padua, eventually rising to become a professor of Roman law and city syndic (Stadtsyndikus) in Basel. Throughout his life, he seamlessly combined his elite academic career with a deep devotion to music.
Lute Compositions and the “Lute Book”
Iselin was not a commercial composer, but he left behind a monumental handwritten document that remains a treasure trove for musicology:
- The Manuscript (Ms. F IX 23): In 1575, he compiled a comprehensive, personal music book in Basel. The original manuscript is preserved today in the Basel University Library.
- Style and Contents: The entire collection is written in traditional German lute tablature for a 6-course Renaissance lute. It contains a diverse European Renaissance repertoire:
- Dances: Contemporary dance forms such as passamezzos, pavanes, and galliards.
- Song Arrangements: Intabulations and adaptations of popular German, French, and Italian secular songs.
- Treatise: The manuscript uniquely includes a brief instructional lute treatise (a guide on how to play the instrument).
