Francesco Foggia

Full biography Francesco Foggia

Francesco Foggia was an Italian composer who lived during the Baroque era. He was born on November 17, 1603, and was baptized in the same month in Taranto, which is located in Southern Italy. Although not much is known about his early life, it is believed that he received his musical education from some of the most distinguished masters of his time.

Foggia began his career as a singer, but he quickly made a name for himself as a composer of sacred music. His music was characterized by its dramatic expressiveness and inventive use of harmony, and he was known for his highly chromatic and dissonant writing. He was one of the leading composers of liturgical music in seventeenth-century Rome and was identified both during his own time and later as one of the most important representatives of the polychoral style of the Roman School.

Foggia's compositions include more than 200 sacred works , including masses, motets, hymns, and psalms, as well as secular music such as operas and oratorios. Some of his most famous works include the masses Versa est in luctum and Cavalli de' Cavalli, the motets Constitues eos principes and Nigra sum sed formosa, and the oratorios Sant'Alessio and Il sepolcro di Christo.

Foggia was highly regarded during his lifetime, and his music was performed throughout Italy and beyond. He held various positions in several churches, including the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome and the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano. He also served as the maestro di cappella at the Cappella Giulia in St. Peter's Basilica for a time.

Francesco Foggia died in Rome on January 8, 1688, at the age of 84. Although he is not as well-known as some of his contemporaries, his music is still performed today and is appreciated for its emotional depth and complexity.