The music teacher and composer John Pyke Hullah (1812–84) is best remembered for his 'singing school for schoolmasters'. Through his dedicated efforts music was embedded into the school curriculum, and his inspiration influenced the rapid growth of amateur choral societies in Britain. Professor of vocal music at King's College, London, from 1844 to 1874, Hullah was elected to the committee of management of the Royal Academy of Music in 1869 and in 1872 became the first government inspector of music in teacher training colleges. The work reissued here is the second edition, published in 1876, of lectures given at the Royal Institution in 1865 on the topic of Italian, French, German and English music from the Renaissance to Handel. It expands on part of his overarching 1861 course of lectures, The History of Modern Music, which is also reissued in this series.