Venice

Question 1

Aims of opsedale

Answer 1

• Providing for beggars, invalids and orphans
• Rigorous musical education for young girls allowed for performances of high standards
• Financial benefit: attracted those who had come originally to Venice for the opera (even though this was fading and Venice was heading for economic crisis)
• Quality of musical performances made the hospices famous and brought revenue
• Girls who became famous brought income back and received better quality of life.

Question 2

Performances at ospedale

Answer 2

• Complines, vespers, masses and feast days
• Concerts organised - four ospedale avoided clashes because concerts so popular
• Royal vistors expected to attend performances and donate

Question 3

Listening culture in Venice

Answer 3

• Girls performed behind screens, part of attraction to (male) audiences.
• Demanded focus on music rather than social motivation (opposite of London concert culture)
• Shaped 18th century listening culture to come

Question 4

Vivaldi’s role

Answer 4

• Originally opera composer in Venice.
• Vivaldi became maestro di concerti at La Pieta
• More active role, teaching and composing a concerto per week, as well as motets, magnificats, oratorios
• Large musical output as evidence for Venetian attitude of music for music’s sake
• Less financial reward for composer - composer afforded less control; hired by patron (?) - less opportunistic.

Question 5

La Pieta aims

Answer 5

• Focus on education, especially as a result of Catholic counter-reformation, supporting notion of training girls as professionals
• Boys did not receive same training as they went to work in city
• La Pieta more like conservatoire, like Neapolitan schools - purchased valuable instruments and taught technique
• Concertos provided opportunity to show off talents

Question 6

Musical significance of ospedale/vivaldi

Answer 6

• Changing listening culture: generally higher value of music.
  Vivaldi: ‘Viola d’Amore and Lute Concerto’, 1740
• Standardisation of ritornello form for outer movements
• Unity as well as dramatic tension created as a result
• Opening movement shows sequential movement to transition away from tonic. Compositional procedure consolidated in concerto repertoire
• Emergence of common practice tonality.
• No social obligations like London allows for more performances which laid foundation for future of composition.

Question 7

Popularity of singers at ospedale

Answer 7

• Intrigue surrounding specific girls who became famous
• Venetian newspapers indicated most popular performers e.g. 1697 ‘Guide for Foreigners’
• Anna Maria known for skills on strings - soloist in 1740 Concerto in honour of Prince of Saxony-Poland

Question 8

venice general

Answer 8

• Appeal comes from being surrounded by water - object of desire for Nothern Europeans plus trading.
• By 18th century main source of revenue was tourism.
• Gondola songs became imported style outside of Italy