Francesco Paolo Supriani Explained
| Francesco Paolo Supriani |
| Birth Date: | 11 July 1678 |
| Birth Place: | Conversano |
| Death Date: | 28 August 1753 |
| Death Place: | Naples |
| Citizenship: | Italian |
| Occupation: | cellist, composer |
| Notable Works: | 12 Toccatas for Cello[1] |
Francesco Paolo Tomaso Supriani (Conversano, 11 July 1678 – Naples, 28 August 1753) was an Italian cellist and composer of the Neapolitan school.
Biography
He was a student of Conservatorio della Pietà dei Turchini[2] from 1693, where he became a cello virtuoso.
He was the author of a manuscript didactic collection[3] of toccatas for the instrument, with an explanatory introduction, entitled: Principij da imparare à suonare il violoncello e con 12 Toccate à solo, found and published by the musicologist and cellist Luigi Silva (1903–1961). A copy of the manuscript is kept in the Biblioteca Conservatorio San Pietro a Majella, Naples. In this work Supriani already uses the fifth position, as well as the bass and tenor clefs. As a virtuoso cellist, he helped the cello to emerge from its traditional rank of continuo and reach the elevated status of a solo instrument.
Supriani is considered one of the teachers of Francesco Alborea, commonly known as "Franciscello".
Compositions
Principij da imparare à suonare il violoncello e con 12 Toccate à solo (1720)
12 Toccatas for cello solo:
- Toccata prima in G major
- Toccata seconda in A minor
- Toccata terza in B flat major
- Toccata quarta in C major
- Toccata quinta
- Toccata sesta
- Toccata settima
- Toccata ottava in G minor
- Toccata nona in A major
- Toccata decima in D minor
- Toccata undicesima in A minor
- Toccata dodicesima in F minor
Discography
- La voce del violoncello opere per violoncello dei principali compositori violoncellisti italiani - (2012, Passacaille Records)
- Boccherini's Dreams : Toccate I, IV, X e XI – Mime Yamahiro Brinkmann, violoncello (gennaio/febbraio 2021, Arcantus) — con due sonate di Boccherini e brani di Pasquini, Cabezon e Storace.
- Supriani: 12 Toccatas for Cello, Transcribed for Viola by Marco Misciagna - Marco Misciagna, viola (2024, MM - MM03)
Notes and References
- https://imslp.org/wiki/Principij_da_imparare_%C3%A0_suonare_il_violoncello_e_con_12_Toccate_%C3%A0_solo_(Supriani%2C_Francesco_Paolo)
- Book: Music in Seventeenth-century Naples: Francesco Provenzale (1624-1704) . 978-0-7546-3721-9 . Fabris . Dinko . 2007 . Ashgate Publishing .
- Book: 978-0-9719854-9-0 . Guido Olivieri: Performance Practice- Issues and Approaches, Steglein Publishing (Cello Playing and Teaching in Eighteenth-Century Naples: F. P. Supriani's Principij da imparare a suonare il violoncello).
