I knew kochuthressiamma pj (kpj) of pareltank only through her blogs and some exchanged comments. I'd been a faithful reader and an admirer of her courageous, thought provoking, spiritual and sometimes hilarious posts. Offering a moment of prayer in memory of this beloved blogger here.
The Four Seasons
Today's post is in honor of kpj as I am sure she would have loved knowing this angle of Vivaldi's Venice and of the orphan girls who were wards of the state as well as one time students of the Maestro. As made clear from interviews with the author, the book is not really centered around Vivaldi but rather around the lives of the girls. Laurel Corona hit the nail on the spot when she decided to do the book this way. Her interest in the lives of the figlie (wards) is genuine and paves the way for a very interesting and rewarding story. Fact and fiction are intertwined in this book and Corona differentiates relevant events/chronology at the end of the book.
I first heard Vivaldi from a CD of the Four Seasons my husband had. The name cannot fail to gather one's interest and the outstanding music cinches the deal. So when I got this book I assumed it to be all about Vivaldi. I was both right and wrong. You do get a good picture of the famous composer who was also an accomplished violinist. What you really love is the heartfelt portrayal of the figlie del coro who were trained from childhood to master music and perform mostly in churches and private parties in eighteenth century Venice. They were held in high esteem and the public enjoyed their music. Despite a natural sympathy you feel for the girls, I was truly amazed at how the Venetian setup managed to do so well by the orphaned girls. Many of the abandoned kids were a result of the strange system of allowable marriages in families which is made more complicated by the presence of courtesans and convents alike.
Corona's book starts with two sisters named Chiaretta and Maddalena who were given to the Pietà,one of four such institutions (ospedalis) in Venice. They were given up by their mother who could not take care of them anymore. The Pietà took care of them by teaching them arts and crafts including lace making, and learning one or many instruments and singing. If anyone was good at any of the arts they would go up the systemic ladder to finally perform as part of the coro (choir). They were allowed to marry and were given a dowry if the alliance was seen fit. After a certain age the ones who did not make it were asked to enter the convent. Before you raise your eyebrows, you must know that the social system in Venice was in such a way that even the wealthiest, noblest families could not afford to marry off more than one girl or one boy. The remainder entered convents or courted courtesans without being able to have real families. Corona did a fine job of mixing the calm, musical and organized lives of the girls of the Pietà with that of the rollicking, fun loving Venetians in the book. Chiaretta became an accomplished singer and Maddalena an accomplished violinist who presumably was also Vivaldi's muse. As in real life Vivaldi started out as a violin teacher and composer to the acclaimed choir of the Pietà. I was surprised to find that he was a priest though he was allowed to absolve himself from saying the mass due to problems related to asthma. He became famous while at the Pietà and moved to better patronage later in life. But his most accomplished music is said to have occurred while writing for the female performers of the figlie de coro. Maddalena is shown as the inspiration for Four Seasons which apparently is quite different from his earlier music. In real life a singer named Anna Giro and her half sister who played the violin were said to have closely associated with Vivaldi. I like Corona's story better where Vivaldi had strong feelings for Maddalena which were never brought out of fear for her future as well as his own since he was a priest. In time Vivaldi went on to produce magic through his operas and Maddalena became the Maestra de violin at the Pietà giving wonderful performances and achieving a great sense of the self through her music. Loved the way the author introduced the idea of Four Seasons from Vivaldi when he figured out that the then adolescent and underling violinist Maddalena was the only person who could understand/feel the 'bird flying' or 'the dog barking' that he played on the violin.
I feel that I have written more about Vivaldi than the girls here but the novel does complete justice to both. Maddalena is the thinker and musician who slowly figures out her life and achieves satisfaction on a higher plane and Chiaretta is the vivacious singer of the golden voice who marries the scion of a noble family and lives a full family life but never really sings again according to the rules for girls married off from the Pietà. A beautiful book to read, this will not disappoint you. For my part I'll be looking out for books by this author for sure. Visit here and here for a rendition of the Four Seasons.
The Four Seasons
Today's post is in honor of kpj as I am sure she would have loved knowing this angle of Vivaldi's Venice and of the orphan girls who were wards of the state as well as one time students of the Maestro. As made clear from interviews with the author, the book is not really centered around Vivaldi but rather around the lives of the girls. Laurel Corona hit the nail on the spot when she decided to do the book this way. Her interest in the lives of the figlie (wards) is genuine and paves the way for a very interesting and rewarding story. Fact and fiction are intertwined in this book and Corona differentiates relevant events/chronology at the end of the book.
I first heard Vivaldi from a CD of the Four Seasons my husband had. The name cannot fail to gather one's interest and the outstanding music cinches the deal. So when I got this book I assumed it to be all about Vivaldi. I was both right and wrong. You do get a good picture of the famous composer who was also an accomplished violinist. What you really love is the heartfelt portrayal of the figlie del coro who were trained from childhood to master music and perform mostly in churches and private parties in eighteenth century Venice. They were held in high esteem and the public enjoyed their music. Despite a natural sympathy you feel for the girls, I was truly amazed at how the Venetian setup managed to do so well by the orphaned girls. Many of the abandoned kids were a result of the strange system of allowable marriages in families which is made more complicated by the presence of courtesans and convents alike.
Corona's book starts with two sisters named Chiaretta and Maddalena who were given to the Pietà,one of four such institutions (ospedalis) in Venice. They were given up by their mother who could not take care of them anymore. The Pietà took care of them by teaching them arts and crafts including lace making, and learning one or many instruments and singing. If anyone was good at any of the arts they would go up the systemic ladder to finally perform as part of the coro (choir). They were allowed to marry and were given a dowry if the alliance was seen fit. After a certain age the ones who did not make it were asked to enter the convent. Before you raise your eyebrows, you must know that the social system in Venice was in such a way that even the wealthiest, noblest families could not afford to marry off more than one girl or one boy. The remainder entered convents or courted courtesans without being able to have real families. Corona did a fine job of mixing the calm, musical and organized lives of the girls of the Pietà with that of the rollicking, fun loving Venetians in the book. Chiaretta became an accomplished singer and Maddalena an accomplished violinist who presumably was also Vivaldi's muse. As in real life Vivaldi started out as a violin teacher and composer to the acclaimed choir of the Pietà. I was surprised to find that he was a priest though he was allowed to absolve himself from saying the mass due to problems related to asthma. He became famous while at the Pietà and moved to better patronage later in life. But his most accomplished music is said to have occurred while writing for the female performers of the figlie de coro. Maddalena is shown as the inspiration for Four Seasons which apparently is quite different from his earlier music. In real life a singer named Anna Giro and her half sister who played the violin were said to have closely associated with Vivaldi. I like Corona's story better where Vivaldi had strong feelings for Maddalena which were never brought out of fear for her future as well as his own since he was a priest. In time Vivaldi went on to produce magic through his operas and Maddalena became the Maestra de violin at the Pietà giving wonderful performances and achieving a great sense of the self through her music. Loved the way the author introduced the idea of Four Seasons from Vivaldi when he figured out that the then adolescent and underling violinist Maddalena was the only person who could understand/feel the 'bird flying' or 'the dog barking' that he played on the violin.
I feel that I have written more about Vivaldi than the girls here but the novel does complete justice to both. Maddalena is the thinker and musician who slowly figures out her life and achieves satisfaction on a higher plane and Chiaretta is the vivacious singer of the golden voice who marries the scion of a noble family and lives a full family life but never really sings again according to the rules for girls married off from the Pietà. A beautiful book to read, this will not disappoint you. For my part I'll be looking out for books by this author for sure. Visit here and here for a rendition of the Four Seasons.
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