Posts Tagged: vivaldi
Ospedale della Pieta
Another documentary from the Beeb this one deals with Vivaldi’s creative relationship with the girls of the Ospedale della Pietà for whom he composed so much music.
Musicologists often blithely ignore the fact that Vivaldi wrote a lot of his music specifically for all woman and girl orchestras and choirs. I’ve never understood why this should be so difficult to grasp but apparently it is.
Vivaldi: Gloria (RV 589) – Domine fili unigenite – YouTube
Oh to be back in Venice. This is the church associated with the organization that runs the hostel where we have stayed many times. Last year we got a private tour of the church and were up in the spaces behind the screens where the girls sang from.Fantastic acoustics, I can only dream about how amazing it must sound with the girls.
Schola Pietatis Antonio Vivaldi (“Vivaldi’s Women”) is an all-female ensemble of singers and players which aims to recreate the sound of Vivaldi’s Figlie di Choro, those foundlings at Venice’s Ospedale della Pietà who performed at Mass and Vespers from behind grilles in the high choir galleries or “cantorie”. It reflects the age range and vocal range of Vivaldi’s musicians, with women aged 14 to 60+, some singing tenor and bass. The group uses period instruments played at 18th-century Venetian pitch (A˜440Hz).
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