Elisabetta de Gambarini

Elisabetta de Gambarini (7 September 1731 – 9 February 1765) was an English composer, singer, organist, harpsichordist, pianist, orchestral conductor and painter of the 18th century. Elisabetta's music is considered late Baroque and Classical music. She achieved distinction as an all-around musician, performing on, and composing for a variety of instruments as well as voice. Her compositions were known to reflect that of vocal work instead of instrumental patterns. She was the first female composer in Britain to publish a collection of keyboard music. Some sources describe her voice type as a singer as a soprano, and others as a mezzo-soprano.

Family Elisabetta de Gambarini was born 7 September 1731 in Holles Street, St Marylebone, Middlesex, England. She was born to Charles Gambarini (died 1754), Counsellor to the Landgrave of Hessen-Kassel and Joanna (Giovanna Paula) Stradiotti (died 1774). Her father was a nobleman from Lucca, Italy. He published A Description of the Earl of Pembroke's Pictures in 1731. Her mother was of similar status from Dalmatia. Her mother may have been a tutor to the nobility but it is not certain. Elisabetta was the third of four children. She was the only sibling to survive to maturity. Her name has appeared several other ways: her first name as Elizabeth, Elisabetta, or Elisabetti and her family name as Gambarini, de Gambarini, Gamberini, or Gambarene. There is no additional information known of either her husband or her daughter.

Education There is no specific information regarding Elisabetta de Gambarini's formal musical education, however there is speculation that she may have studied with Francesco Geminiani, composer of The Inchanted Forest. It is known that French women undertook music instruction at a young age, under the guidance of a music master before marriage and family responsibilities intervened. The lute and the harpsichord by their nature were sufficient unto themselves or could serve to support the player's own voice. and Joseph and his Brethren (1747). Her name also appears in scores of Handel's Samson and Messiah; however the exact dates are unknown.

By 1748 Elisabetta's reputation allowed her to promote and perform her own benefit concert. She sang and played her own compositions with the organ. There is also information that she may have sought a court appointment during this time.

Women in music As the eighteenth century progressed, the social class of the women who composed music and what they chose to compose changed. Gelbart, Nina Rattner. The King's Midwife A History of Madame du Coudray. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998. Gowen, Bradford. New Music for Performance: Six Sonatas for Harpsichord or Piano by Elisabetta De Gambarini; Six Lessons by Elizabeth Harden. Edited by Barbara Harbach. Piano & Keyboard, January/February 1996, 51. Accessed *3 May 2016. Jezic, Diane P. Women Composers. New York: The Feminist Press at The City University of New York, 1988. Mathiesen, Penelope. Elisabetta De Gambarini: The Vocal Option. Continuo 16, no. 2 (2 April 1992). Neuls-Bates, Carol. Women in Music. Boston : Northeastern University Press, 1996. Noble, Anthony F. A Contextual Study of the Life and Published Keyboard Works of Elisabetta de Gambarini, Together with a Recording, Facsimile of the Music, and Commentary. PhD dissertation, University of Southampton (King Alfred’s College Winchester), 2000. Noble, Anthony F. Gambarini (married name Chazal), Elizabeth (Elisabetta de Gambarini) (1730–1765), composer, keyboard player, and singer. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004): Accessed 30 March 2016. Pendle, Karin. Women & Music. Second ed. Bloomington : Indiana University Press, 1991, 2001. Rasch, Rudolf. The Thirty-Three Works of Francesco Geminiani, Work Twenty, The Inchanted Forest (1754/1761). My Work on the Internet, Vol 8 (April 2016) Smith, Charles, & Georges, Patrick. Similarity indices for 500 classical music composers: Inferences from personal musical influences and ‘ecological’ measures. Empirical Studies of the Arts 33, 1 (2015) : 61–94. Winton, Dean. Gambarini, Elisabetta de. Grove Music Online (2001): Accessed 30 March 2016. doi: 10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.10600