Francesco Usper (real name Spongia or Sponga) (1 November 1561 – 24 February 1641),New Grove: Usper (Sponga, Spongia, Sponza), Francesco, b. ca. 1560/61, Rovigno (now Rovinj), Istria, d. Feb. 24, 1641, Venice; Italian composer, organist, and priest) was an Italian composer and organist born in Rovigno,

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...

(now

Rovinj Rovinj (; Venetian and ; Istriot: or ; ; ) is a city in west Croatia situated on the north Adriatic Sea with a population of 14,294 (2011). Located on the western coast of the Istrian peninsula, it is a popular tourist resort and beach destin ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

). He settled in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

before 1586 and is associated with the

confraternity A confraternity (; ) is generally a Christian voluntary association of laypeople created for the purpose of promoting special works of Christian charity or piety, and approved by the Church hierarchy. They are most common among Catholics, Lu ...

St. Giovanni Evangelista, Venice. He spent most of his life there, serving as organist,

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

, manager of the adjoining church (the S. Salvador) and administrative officer. Usper studied under

Andrea Gabrieli Andrea Gabrieli (1532/1533Bryant, Grove online – August 30, 1585) was an Italian composer and organist of the late Renaissance music, Renaissance. The uncle of the somewhat more famous Giovanni Gabrieli, he was the first internationally renowned ...

and apparently became a fairly well known composer; he collaborated in the writing of a

Requiem mass A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is u ...

(now lost) with Giovanni Battista Grillo and

Claudio Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string instrument, string player. A composer of both Secular music, secular and Church music, sacred music, and a pioneer ...

for the Grand Duke Cosimo II, and he served as substitute organist at

St. Mark Mark the Evangelist ( Koinē Greek: Μᾶρκος, romanized: ''Mârkos''), also known as John Mark ( Koinē Greek: Ἰωάννης Μᾶρκος, romanized: ''Iōánnēs Mârkos;'' Aramaic'': ܝܘܚܢܢ, romanized: Yōḥannān'') or Saint Mark ...

's in 1622 and 1623. Although his music tended towards conservatism, he shows his ability to handle with skill sensitivity to the instrumental styles just emerging in the early 17th century.

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External links

* * *http://www.geocities.jp/lyrischesuite/Sponga.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Usper, Francesco 1561 births 1641 deaths Italian Renaissance composers Italian Baroque composers Italian male classical composers Composers from Venice Venetian School (music) composers 17th-century Italian composers 17th-century Italian male musicians