Corbetta, Francesco (EN)

Corbetta Francesco, *ca. 1620 Pavia, †March 1681 Paris, Italian guitarist and composer. He was initially in the service of the Duke of Mantua (from where he often traveled to other courts, including those of the Habsburgs), then of Christian Louis, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1652–53). Around 1656, he appeared at the court of Louis XIV in Paris, and from around 1660 he stayed in the company of Charles II and Prince James (the future King James II) in London. In 1669, he reappeared in Paris, and around 1674, he returned to London, where, among other things, he taught Princess Anne (the future queen) to play the guitar. He was considered the greatest guitarist of his time. His collections mainly include passacaglias, chaconnes, follies, and dances (usually allemande, courant, sarabande, gigue), collected in suites, often preceded by preludes and sometimes ending with a passacaglia. Corbett’s works, which combine chord (battuto) and finger (pizzicato) techniques, often feature bold dissonances and unexpected harmonic sequences.

Literature: M. Schulz Francesco Corbetta und das Generalbass-Spielen, “Die Musikforschung” IV, 1951; R. Keith „Laguitarre royale”. A Study of the Career and Compositions of Francesco Corbetta, «Recherches sur la musique française classique» VI, Paris 1966; R. Pinnell Francesco Corbetta and the Baroque Guitar, with a transcription of his works, Ann Arbor (Michigan), 2 vols., «Studies in Musicology» XXV,  1980;  R. Pinnell Francesco Corbetta: chitarrista barocco alla corte d’Inghilterra, „Il Fronimo” XXVII, 1981; M. Mabbet Italian Musicians in Resoration England (1660–90), “Music & Letters” LXVII, 1986, no. 3; M. Hall Dissonance in the Guitar Music of Francesco Corbetta, “Lute Society Journal” XLVII, 2007; M. Hall Francesco Corbetta: a Biography, “Lute Society Journal” LIII, 2013; L. Eisenhardt Italian Guitar Music of the Seventeenth Century: Battuto and Pizzicato, Rochester (New York) 2015.