This work investigates the historical development and stylistic contributions of the primary English composers of the madrigal form during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Edmund H. Fellowes, a preeminent musicologist and clergyman, utilizes his extensive archival research to contextualize the emergence of the English madrigal school. He argues that these composers successfully adapted the Italian madrigal tradition to suit the unique linguistic and harmonic preferences of the English Renaissance. The text provides a systematic analysis of the transition from earlier vocal forms to the sophisticated polyphony characteristic of the period.

Musicologists and historians recognize this work as a foundational text for the study of the English madrigal school. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the author's meticulous attention to primary source manuscripts.