Nicolas Vallet was a Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 lutenist and composer of French birth.

Vallet, a Huguenot

Huguenot

The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...

, was born at Corbeny

Corbeny

Corbeny is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France.-Geography:The river Ailette flows southward through the northwestern part of the commune....

, Aisne

Aisne

Aisne is a department in the northern part of France named after the Aisne River.- History :Aisne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Île-de-France, Picardie, and Champagne.Most of the old...

, but fled from France to the Netherlands for religious reasons. In Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

 he worked as a self-supporting musician, lute-teacher, and as the owner of a dance school.

His primary work, "Le Secret des Muses", contains compositions and instruction for the 10-string Renaissance lute. It appeared, in two parts, in 1615 and 1616. It was among the last compositions to appear for this instrument, before it was supplanted by the Baroque lute.

He also wrote Psalms of David (in 1615) and Regia Pietas (in 1622).

According to Frederick Neumann, Vallet may have been among the first to introduce ornaments

Ornament (music)

In music, ornaments or embellishments are musical flourishes that are not necessary to carry the overall line of the melody , but serve instead to decorate or "ornament" that line. Many ornaments are performed as "fast notes" around a central note...

 into lute tablature

Tablature

Tablature is a form of musical notation indicating instrument fingering rather than musical pitches....

.