Women Musicians of Venice: Musical Foundations, 1525-1855 (Oxford Monographs on Music)

Rating:
Summary: Exceptionally interesting book for the general reader
Review: I ordered this book from Amazon because I was interested in Vivaldi's all-girl orchestra. How did such an orchestra come to be? What was its context? Who were the girls (conflicting reports had them orphans, children of prostitutes, unwanted children of the wealthy, etc.)? Who heard them play? What was their schooling like? This book was great! It had the answers and much more. The book presents detailed accounts of the four ospedali that sponsored women's orchestra, including the Ospedale della Pieta, where Vivalidi worked as a violin instructor. The book paints an interesting picture of Venice, the city that was as much a parent to the orchestras as were the ospedali. The book traces the histories of the ospedali, discusses their organization, and devotes considerable attention to the cori (the choir, which was the central musical organization) at each. As it turns out, the violinists trained by Vivaldi seem to be musicians in support of singers performing religious works, including operas, which, in turn support the ospedali. The section on the people at the ospedali devotes attention to the faculty and staff at the schools as much as to the girls who performed there. The section on the daily lives of the musicians was exceptionally interesting.
While the book is a serious work on the history of music, it is easy for the none scholar to read. The book assumes that the reader understands the development of musical styles and tastes. It brings the reader along by mentioning works, but does not give samples of scores to illustrate points. I wished at several points that the author would have included architectural drawings of the ospedali to help me picture what was where. The notes, bibliography, and other documentation are impressive. I ordered the book to learn more about Vivaldi. While Vivaldi does not get much attention here, I learned about an exciting venue in the development of music. This book is worth the price!

Rating:
Summary: Exceptionally interesting book for the general reader
Review: I ordered this book from Amazon because I was interested in Vivaldi's all-girl orchestra. How did such an orchestra come to be? What was its context? Who were the girls (conflicting reports had them orphans, children of prostitutes, unwanted children of the wealthy, etc.)? Who heard them play? What was their schooling like? This book was great! It had the answers and much more. The book presents detailed accounts of the four ospedali that sponsored women's orchestra, including the Ospedale della Pieta, where Vivalidi worked as a violin instructor. The book paints an interesting picture of Venice, the city that was as much a parent to the orchestras as were the ospedali. The book traces the histories of the ospedali, discusses their organization, and devotes considerable attention to the cori (the choir, which was the central musical organization) at each. As it turns out, the violinists trained by Vivaldi seem to be musicians in support of singers performing religious works, including operas, which, in turn support the ospedali. The section on the people at the ospedali devotes attention to the faculty and staff at the schools as much as to the girls who performed there. The section on the daily lives of the musicians was exceptionally interesting.
While the book is a serious work on the history of music, it is easy for the none scholar to read. The book assumes that the reader understands the development of musical styles and tastes. It brings the reader along by mentioning works, but does not give samples of scores to illustrate points. I wished at several points that the author would have included architectural drawings of the ospedali to help me picture what was where. The notes, bibliography, and other documentation are impressive. I ordered the book to learn more about Vivaldi. While Vivaldi does not get much attention here, I learned about an exciting venue in the development of music. This book is worth the price!