Caporale: Cello Sonatas / Handel: Arias

Very little is known about the life of Andrea Caporale. He was very probably born and raised in Napoli, and he went, like many of his contemporaries, to London to find his luck as a performing artist. He became a cellist in the opera orchestra of Handel.

Caporale dedicated his set of 6 Cello Sonatas to Frederick Prince of Wales, son of Charles II, an enthusiastic cello player himself.

Handel must have been very impressed by Caporale as cellist in his orchestra, as he composed several arias with obbligato cello especially for him; these arias are included in the present recording, sung by Angelo Bonazzoli.

The cellist in this recording is Renato Criscuolo, seconded by the Romabarocca Ensemble. Criscuolo made several successful recordings for Brilliant Classics in works by Zuccari, Handel, Pergolesi and Porpora.