Giovanni Girolamo Kapsperger (also: ''Johann(es) Hieronymus Kapsberger'' or ''Giovanni Geronimo Kapsperger''; c. 1580 – 17 January 1651) was an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'' or , "virtuous", Late Latin ''virtuosus'', Latin ''virtus'', "virtue", "excellence" or "skill") is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such a ...

performer and composer of the early

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

period. A prolific and highly original composer, Kapsberger is chiefly remembered today for his

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...

and

theorbo The theorbo is a plucked string instrument of the lute family, with an extended neck and a second pegbox. Like a lute, a theorbo has a curved-back sound box (a hollow box) with a wooden top, typically with a sound hole, and a neck extending ...

(''chitarrone'') music, which was seminal in the development of these as solo instruments.

Life

Nothing is known about Kapsberger's date and place of birth. His father Colonel Wilhelm (Guglielmo) von Kapsperger was a military official of the Imperial House of Austria, and may have settled in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, the city which may have been Kapsberger's birthplace. After 1605 Kapsberger moved to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, where he quickly attained a reputation as a brilliant virtuoso. He cultivated connections with various powerful individuals and organizations; and himself organized "academies" in his house, which were counted among the "wonders of Rome". Around 1609 Kapsberger married Gerolima di Rossi, with whom he had at least three children. He started publishing his music at around the same time, with more than a dozen collections of music appearing during the next ten years. These included the celebrated ''Libro I d'intavolatura di lauto'' (1611), Kapsberger's only surviving collection of music for lute.Coelho, Grove. In 1624 Kapsperger entered the service of Cardinal Francesco Barberini, where he worked with numerous important composers (such as

Girolamo Frescobaldi Girolamo Alessandro Frescobaldi (; also Gerolamo, Girolimo, and Geronimo Alissandro; September 15831 March 1643) was an Italian composer and virtuoso keyboard player. Born in the Duchy of Ferrara, he was one of the most important composers of k ...

and

Stefano Landi Stefano Landi (baptized 26 February 1587 – 28 October 1639) was an Italian composer and teacher of the early Baroque Roman School. He was an influential early composer of opera, and wrote the earliest opera on a historical subject: '' Il ...

) and poets (which included Giulio Rospigliosi, the future

Pope Clement IX Pope Clement IX ( la, Clemens IX; it, Clemente IX; 28 January 1600 – 9 December 1669), born Giulio Rospigliosi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 20 June 1667 to his death in December 1669. Biography Ear ...

). Kapsberger worked in Barberini's household until 1646. He died in 1651.

Works

Kapsberger is best remembered as a composer for

and

. At least six collections were published during his lifetime, two of which are currently lost. Kapsberger's writing is characterized, especially in

toccata Toccata (from Italian ''toccare'', literally, "to touch", with "toccata" being the action of touching) is a virtuoso piece of music typically for a keyboard or plucked string instrument featuring fast-moving, lightly fingered or otherwise virtu ...

s, by spontaneous changes, sharp contrasts, unusual rhythmic groupings and, sometimes, passages that do not conform to the rules of

counterpoint In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tra ...

that were in use at the time. The vast majority of contemporary critics praised Kapsberger's compositional skill and innovations. Among them was

Athanasius Kircher Athanasius Kircher (2 May 1602 – 27 November 1680) was a German Jesuit scholar and polymath who published around 40 major works, most notably in the fields of comparative religion, geology, and medicine. Kircher has been compared to fe ...

, who described Kapsberger as a "superb genius" and attested that he has "successfully penetrated the secrets of music." One notable exception was the critic

Giovanni Battista Doni Giovanni Battista Doni (bap. 13 March 1595 – 1647) was an Italian musicologist and humanist who made an extensive study of ancient music. He is known, among other works, for having renamed the note "Ut" to "Do" in solfège. In his day, he was ...

, who was initially supportive of the composer, but then turned against him for unclear reasons and criticised his music in print.Coelho, liner notes, p. 13. Some contemporaries, such as

, mentioned that Kapsberger was not as meticulous a composer as he was as a performer. The features listed above led some modern scholars to share this view and they tend to believe that Kapsberger was a composer of inferior ability. Prominent among these critics is lutenist Rolf Lislevand: in his words, "Kapsberger was as bad a composer as he was a fine instrumentalist ..The ideas are often badly developed, and are freely associated with one another; no real musical discourse is built up ..the rhythm—even after serious efforts at fathoming it—wavers between inspired cleverness and total confusion." Regardless of how one regards his compositional prowess, Kapsberger was one of the principal composers of lute and theorbo music during the early Baroque era (together with

Alessandro Piccinini Alessandro Piccinini (1566 – 1638), was an Italian lutenist and composer. Piccinini was born in Bologna into a musical family: his father Leonardo Maria Piccinini taught lute playing to Alessandro as well as his brothers Girolamo (d. 1615) and ...

) and greatly contributed towards advancing European plucked string instruments of the time. Also, Kapsberger's toccatas may have influenced those of

, much like French lute music would, some years later, influence

Johann Jakob Froberger Johann Jakob Froberger (baptized 19 May 1616 – 7 May 1667) was a German Baroque composer, keyboard virtuoso, and organist. Among the most famous composers of the era, he was influential in developing the musical form of the suite of dances in hi ...

suite Suite may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Suite (music), a set of musical pieces considered as one composition ** Suite (Bach), a list of suites composed by J. S. Bach ** Suite (Cassadó), a mid-1920s composition by Gaspar Cassadó ** ''Suite ...

s. Kapsberger's other music includes two collections of instrumental ensemble dances, rare for the period, and a wealth of vocal music, which was widely performed during his lifetime, but which is now critically less acclaimed. Kapsberger also wrote stage music, almost all currently lost. The only surviving work of this kind is ''Apotheosis sive Consecratio SS Ignatii et Francisci Xaverii'' (1622).

List of works

This list only includes works published during the composer's lifetime; the few pieces that survive in manuscripts, as well as pieces of questionable attribution, are not included.

Lute and theorbo

* ''Libro primo d'intavolatura di chitarrone'' (1604): 6 toccatas, 7 sets of variations, 12 gagliards, ''Tenore del Kapsberger'' * ''Libro primo d'intavolatura di lauto'' (1611): 8 toccatas, 12 gagliards, 12 correntes * ''Libro terzo d'intavolatura di chitarrone'' (1626), a recently rediscovered collection,Rivista Italiana di Musicologia. Vol. XXXIX-2 - Abstracts
/ref> now at Yale: 8 toccatas, 1 "gagliarda partita", 2 correntes; then an entire section as practical tutorial for chitarrone players including "passaggi diversi su le note per sonare sopra la parte", cadenzas in tablature, a «tavola per intavolare sopra il Chitarrone, alla Italiana et alla Francese,» a «tavola per sonare il chitarrone sopra il basso». * ''Libro quarto d'intavolatura di chitarrone'' (1640): 12 toccatas, 16 preludes, 10 passacaglias, 5 chaconnes, and numerous other pieces, including dances, variations, canzonas, etc.

Other instrumental

* ''Libro primo de balli, gagliarde et correnti, a quattro voci'' (1615): 8 balli, 6 gagliards, 6 correntes * ''Libro primo di sinfonie, a quattro voci'' (1615): 18 sinfonies à 4 with

basso continuo Basso continuo parts, almost universal in the Baroque era (1600–1750), provided the harmonic structure of the music by supplying a bassline and a chord progression. The phrase is often shortened to continuo, and the instrumentalists playing the ...

Sacred vocal

* ''Libro primo di mottetti passeggiati'' (1612), 20

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Ma ...

s for voice and basso continuo * ''Cantiones sacrae'' (1628), 21 pieces for 3–6 voices and basso continuo * ''Modulatus sacri diminutis voculis concinnati'' (1630), for voice and basso continuo * ''I pastori di Bettelemme'' (1630), for six voices and basso continuo * ''Missae urbanae'' (1631), three masses for 4, 5 and 8 voices with basso continuo * ''Litaniae deiparae virginis'' (1631), four

litanies Litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Judaic worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes through Latin '' litania'' from Ancient Greek λιτανεία (''li ...

for 4, 6 and 8 voices with basso continuo

Secular vocal

Villanellas

* ''Libro primo di villanelle'' (1610), 20

villanella In music, a villanella (; plural villanelle) is a form of light Italian secular vocal music which originated in Italy just before the middle of the 16th century. It first appeared in Naples, and influenced the later canzonetta, and from there also ...

s for 1–3 voices and basso continuo * ''Libro secundo di villanelle'' (1619), 21 villanellas for 1–3 voices and basso continuo * ''Libro terzo di villanelle'' (1619), 20 villanellas for 1–3 voices and basso continuo * ''Libro quarto di villanelle'' (1623), 23 villanellas for 1–3 voices and basso continuo * ''Libro quinto di villanelle'' (1630), villanellas for 1–4 voices and basso continuo * ''Li fiori – Libro sesto di villanelle'' (1632), villanellas for 1–4 voices and basso continuo * ''Libro settimo di villanelle'' (1640), villanellas for 1–3 voices and basso continuo

Arie passeggiate

* ''Libro primo di arie passeggiate'' (1612), 22 arias for voice and theorbo basso continuo * ''Libro secundo di arie passeggiate'' (1623), 30 arias for 1–2 voices and basso continuo

Other works

* ''Libro primo de madrigali'' (1609), madrigals for five voices and basso continuo * ''Poematia et carmina ..liber I'' (1624), 10 settings of verses by

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII ( la, Urbanus VIII; it, Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death in July 1644. As po ...

, for voice and basso continuo * ''Coro musicale'' (1627), wedding songs for voice and basso continuo

Stage

* ''Apotheosis sive Consecratio SS Ignatii et Francisci Xaverii'' (1622)

Lost

* ''Maggio Cantata nel Real Palazzo de Pitti'' (1612), secular

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning o ...

* ''Libro secundo d'intavolatura di chitarrone'' (1616) * ''Libro secundo d'intavolatura di lauto'' (1619) * ''Epitalamio ..recitativo a piu voci'' (1628), secular vocal music * ''Libro terzo d'arie passeggiate'' (1630) * ''Poematia et carmina ..liber II'' (1633), settings of verses by Pope Urban VIII * ''La vittoria del principe Vladislao in Valacchia'' (1625), opera * ''Fetonte'' (1630), dramma recitato Also, a compositional treatise by Kapsberger, ''Il Kapsperger della musica'', was announced in 1640 in the preface to ''Libro quarto d'intavolatura di chitarrone'', but is now lost.

Notes

References

* * Victor Anand Coelho. Liner notes to "Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger: Libro Primo d'Intavolatura di Lauto" (Hopkinson Smith, 10-course lute). Auvidis/Astrée E 8553, 1995.

External links

Johannes Hieronymus Kapsberger biography at HOASM

Free scores at Luth-Librairie

includes sheet music for 7 toccatas from the recently discovered ''Libro terzo d'intavolatura di chitarrone'' * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kapsperger, Giovanni Girolamo 1580s births 1651 deaths Musicians from Venice Italian male classical composers Renaissance composers Italian Baroque composers Composers for lute Lutenists Italian people of German descent 17th-century Italian composers 17th-century male musicians