“Dear Mr. Puppy,
I know you were in Paris during the French Revolution – How did you avoid being sent to the guillotine? “
Oh my dear, this is a complicated story. Well it is true that I was arrested by the Committee of Public Safety, They had overheard me talking with a suspected royalist in the Café that the Italian musicians and singers frequented. I have to admit I was terrified and after a week in prison, a very unfortunate place to find oneself in those times, they marched me through the streets to appear before the judge, that Minotaur at the center of that evil cabal. They asked me. “Your name? — Puppo. Your profession? — I play the violin. What did you do during the reign of the Tyrant Louis XVI, ?— I played the violin. What do you do currently? — I am playing the violin. What do you plan to do for The Republic if she has need of your services? I will play the violin”. Then they fetched a violin from someone on the street and made me play just to make sure that I was not telling, as the French call it, an ‘incertitude’. I played a fine Neapolitan air, well known by the people of the street who sat as judge and jury by their rabble rousing in that cavernous hall. Finally the Grand Minotaur Antoine Fouquier Tinville bellowed out. “Make sure that we do not see you here again or your neck will not sit so freely on your shoulders”.
Giuseppe Puppo was an Italian violinist, composer, and teacher. Born in Lucca, Italy, he quickly became a violin virtuoso at an early age. He travelled through Europe through the end of the 18th century, settling in Paris in 1783 where he became a highly-sought after teacher and authority on violin-playing. Fondly referred to as “Mr. Puppy” in England, Dipper Restorations will be featuring a weekly series called “Dear Mr. Puppy” on our social media platforms. We will answer your Early music questions in accordance to the opinions of Signor Puppo, unravelling the mysteries and curiosities of the exquisite tradition of violinmaking and playing.
