A 2008 conference and the publication of this collection of papers honor Prizer on his retirement from the U. of California, Santa Barbara, where he made wide-ranging and far-reaching contributions to studies of Renaissance music (he discovered the importance of the Order of the Golden Fleece for sacred music, among other contributions). The essays are arranged thematically as follows: liturgical music and ceremony, word and music in the humanist era, ribaldry in high and low places, the state in church and theater, gender and power, enigmatic women, musical innovators and innovations, and mysteries and secrets revealed (e.g. of Francisco Corteccia's Book of Counterpoints, and liturgical manuscripts at Hearst Castle). Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)