Life
Robert de Visée was a French lutenist, guitarist, theorbist, and singer active at the court of Louis XIV and Louis XV, born around 1655, possibly in La Flèche. First documented in 1680, he soon became a chamber musician to Louis XIV, performing frequently for the king, reportedly at his bedside in the evenings. In 1709 he was appointed a singer of the royal chamber, and in 1719 was named Guitar Master to the young Louis XV. He may have studied with the Italian guitarist Francesco Corbetta, though this is undocumented. Robert de Visée published two books of guitar suites (1682, 1686) and a further collection for theorbo and lute (1716), and died around 1732 or 1733.
Impact
Robert de Visée was the leading guitarist and theorbist of the French court in the age of Louis XIV, and his suites for guitar, theorbo, and lute are central to the French Baroque plucked-string repertoire. Blending dance forms with the refined ornamentation of the style luthé, his music influenced later French guitar and lute composers and remains a cornerstone of the modern classical guitar and theorbo repertoire.
Repertoire
Suite in D minor, 1682
One of de Visée’s best-known suites, published in his Livre de guittarre dédié au Roy and widely arranged for guitar, lute, and theorbo.
Robert de Visée: Suite D Minor / Horst Klee, Guitar — Performed by Horst Klee · classical guitar
Allemande, suite en ré mineur, Robert de Visée — Performed by Le Carré de Musique
Suite in A minor (Pièces de Théorbe), 1716
A suite for theorbo from de Visée’s late collection Pièces de théorbe et de luth, closing with an expressive Chaconne.
Robert de Visée: ‘Pièces de Théorbe’ Suite in A minor — Performed by period-instrument recording · theorbo
Pièces de théorbe, Suite in A Minor: VI. Chaconne — Performed by Xavier Díaz-Latorre · theorbo