Vivaldi and his Girls

As I mentioned in last week’s blog, Antonio Vivaldi—priest, composer, teacher, violin virtuoso, musical innovator (not necessarily in order of importance)—possessed something of a larger-than-life personality.  He was also a fine string teacher—when he was in town—and spent most of his working life in various teaching positions at the Ospedale della Pietá (House of Mercy) in Venice.  It was one of a string of charitable institutions that took in those in need, mainly orphaned or illegitimate children, and mainly girls.

When Vivaldi was appointed maestro di violino in 1703, just a few months after his ordination, della Pietá was already an ancient institution (founded in 1336) and known for its music; he helped to make it famous all over Europe for the high quality of its all-girl choirs and bands, a reputation that was well deserved, for they received rigorous musical training.  In fact, some noble families with talented daughters unsuccessfully tried to pass them off as orphans in a bid for Pietá training.  Since the girls had to renounce a musical career if they married, some stayed their entire lives, devoting themselves to teaching and performance.

These performers exerted a real fascination on their audiences, aided by the fact that they performed in the upper gallery behind iron grilles which mostly screened them from view, leaving only shadowy, romantic silhouettes.

English novelist and art collector William Beckford wrote, "The sight of the orchestra still makes me smile.  You know, I suppose, it is entirely of the feminine gender, and that nothing is more common than to see a delicate white hand journeying across an enormous double bass, or a pair of roseate cheeks puffing, with all their efforts, at a French horn.”

Charles de Brosses, president of the Dijon Parliament in France in the 1740s, said, "They sing like angels, and play violin, flute, organ, hautboy, violincello, bassoon, in short, there is no instrument so large as to frighten them."

But perhaps most famous of all was Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s musings in his Confessions of 1770:

“I have not an idea of anything so voluptuous and affecting as this music; the richness of the art, the exquisite taste of the vocal part, the excellence of the voices, the justness of the execution, everything in these delightful concerts concurs to produce an impression which certainly is not the mode, but from which I am of opinion no heart is secure… What vexed me was the iron grate, which suffered nothing to escape but sounds, and concealed from me the angels of which they were worthy.”

When he finally met them in person he found them disappointingly ugly!  And yet they charmed him with their grace and intelligence, so much so that he finally “in spite of my eyes, obstinately continued to think them beautiful.”

It was for these young women that Vivaldi wrote much of his music, and they helped to secure his reputation even as he helped build the Ospedale’s musical stature.  Besides acting as teacher of strings, Vivaldi also filled in for the absent maestro di coro (director of choirs, an absence that lasted for six years!), and wrote a great deal of sacred choral music, including his Gloria in D major.  Although he was dismissed from his post several times for short periods between 1709 and 1716 (no one really knows why, perhaps because of his temperament and extensive travel, perhaps because he had trained so many girls as teachers that the Pietà could economize), and although he spent a great deal of time away from the school promoting his operas and other music, he was elevated to maestro de’ concertini (director of instrumental music—the board of governors was really pleased with his compositions) in 1716 and supplied the Pietà with many concertos.  He retained his connection with the Ospedali until his death, away from home as usual, in 1741.

Imagine two of these young women, almost completely hidden from sight, their voices falling from above, singing this duet from Vivaldi’s Gloria.

Dr. Linda Gingrich

Artistic director and conductor

Master Chorus Eastside