The madrigal composed in England during the late sixteenth century and early seventeenth centuries include some of the finest music of the period and are possibly superior in truth and expressiveness even to the madrigals composed in Italy, where the form was invented and flourished over a long period. Faced with many hundreds of possible candidates for inclusion in the edition, the editor worked on the principal that the major composers would each be represented by several madrigals, and the lesser figures by one or more. But no madrigal would be included if it fell below the high standard set by the collection as a whole. Over 60 madrigals are included.