Biography
Giacomo Gorzanis (de Jacomo ) (c. 1520 - Trieste, between 1575 and 1579?) Was an Italian composer and lutenist.
Not much is known about his life. He was blind and probably from a noble family. The affinity between his villanelle and those of Stefano Felis , Pomponio Nenna and Giovanni Jacopo de Antiquis suggest that he spent the first years of his career at the Spanish court in Bari; then he moved to Trieste, where he received citizenship before 1567 .
The Italian variation dance suite did not exist before Gorzanis' compositions and it is thought that he may have contributed to their development. The lute works were at least important foreshadowings of the suite. Many of Gorzanis' compositions were dances written polyphonically while others employed the use of refrains. Settings were quite demanding often using six-note chords; the performer was often required to use the highest possible position on the instrument. Gorzanis' "Libro de intabluatura di liuto. . ." contained 24 dance pairs, early suites, composed in each of the major and minor keys.
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