Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger

about

Giovanni Girolamo Kapsperger (aka Giovanni Geronimo Kapsperger or Johannes Hieronymus Kapsberger) (c. 1580 – 17 January 1651) was a German-Italian virtuoso performer and composer of the early Baroque period. A prolific and highly original composer, Kapsberger is chiefly remembered today for his lute, theorbo and chitarrone music, which was seminal in the development of these as solo instruments. Nothing is known about Kapsberger's date and place of birth. His father Colonel Guglielmo Kapsperger was a military official of the Imperial House of Austria, and may have settled in Venice, the city which may have been Kapsberger's birthplace. After 1605 Kapsberger moved to Rome, where he quickly attained a reputation of 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. In 1624 Kapsperger entered the service of Cardinal Francesco Barberini, where he worked with numerous important composers (such as Girolamo Frescobaldi and Stefano Landi) and poets (which included Giulio Rospigliosi, the

top songs

albums

Kapsberger: Che fai tù? (Vilanelles)

Johann Hieronymus Kapsberger: Música para Tiorba

Baroque Lute Music, Vol. I: Kapsberger

Kapsberger: La Villanella

The Art of the Lute

Kapsberger: Libro quarto d'intavolatura di chitaronne

Kapsberger, G.: Lute Music

Italian Virtuosi of the Chitarrone

▥

L'Arpeggiata, Christina Pluhar: The Complete Alpha Recordings

▥

Metamorfosi - Baroque Impressions

Virtù e nobiltà: Theorbo Music in Baroque Rome

Intavolatura di chitarone

similar artists