Vivaldi's Violins: the Accounts of Ospedale della Pietà

Much of Micky's work has been with archive material that has, until now, remained completely unknown, sometimes since the 18th century. In an ideal world she would take her time and in due course publish a definitive biography of Vivaldi, in fact that is what her friends hope and assume that she will do. However, this is, as most of us know, not an ideal world, and her ground-breaking work is being tracked by an Italian archivist who, we fear, may try to claim Micky's discoveries as his own.

In brief Micky has, among much else, discovered files of the actual bills received by the Pietà for all kinds of services rendered and goods purchased between 1745 and 1779. These receipted accounts include statements from the musical instrument shops which did business with the Pietà, starting with that of Mattio Sellas, now run by Zuanne Sellas, who repaired and sold wind instruments as well as strings. When Zuanne resigned in 1760 the Pietà’s work was taken over by Giorgio Serafin, nephew of Santo and son-in-law of Domenico Montagnana, who was running the Montagnana shop, not only on his own and his wife’s behalf, but also that of her four sisters. Later receipts were signed by Giorgio’s son Giovanni Battista, and on behalf of the shop by Giorgio’s one-time apprentice, Iseppo del Lago.

It seems that the ladies of the Pietà were well looked after by their “Lauters”, who not only supplied large quantities of strings, many bows, and occasional new or second-hand instruments, but also carried out all kinds of repairs from new bridges and pegs and bow rehairs to quite extensive interior work. The picture is of a very active school of music, working and playing hard in the decades following Vivaldi’s death, being looked after in much the same way as modern violin makers take care of the schools and colleges of our own time.

In a number of instances the makers of the Pietà's instruments were specifically named. Stradivari, A. and H. Amati, Nicolo Amati, Andrea Guarneri and Rugeri all feature, as do Dalla Costa, Matteo and Francesco Goffriller, Mezzadri, De Vitor and of course Montagnana himself. Carlo Tononi is represented by an expensive snakewood bow.

Micky White’s discoveries give a unique insight into the world of the mid-eighteenth century Venetian violin makers, as well as illuminating the lives of the lady-performers who so enchanted visitors to the city at the time and have fired so much imagination since.

Charles Beare

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To have a fuller and more appreciative understanding of the lists of repairs and instruments supplied to the Pietà by the firms of Mattio Selles and Domenico Montagnana, one must first understand what the Pietà actually was, what life was like within it, and the nature of the Figlie di Choro, to whom the items were supplied.  

The Ospedale della Pietà has very often been misinterpreted and misrepresented in print. In eighteenth century Venice there were 4 “Ospedali”, which were institutions, each with a different function, housing various disadvantaged members of society. The one thing that all had in common was music.  

The Ospedale degli Incurabili, which was on the Zattere, facing the Church of the Redentore, was, as the name implies, for people with incurable diseases. The Ospedaletto was for orphans. The Mendicanti, which was the largest, took in nobles who had fallen on hard times, war-wounded, beggars and the homeless. These last two were situated near each other, close to the Church of S.S. Giovanni e Paolo. The Pietà was (….half way between the Doge’s Palace and the Arsenal??). It has often been wrongly described as an orphanage, a school for girls, a convent or a musical academy. It was in fact for abandoned or unwanted babies.

These babies were brought in for various reasons: poverty, mothers having died in childbirth, fathers away in the army or navy or who had left their wives, but by far the largest category was illegitimacy. A great number were the children of prostitutes. A child could have been brought by its mother or another relative or, in cases where a baby was abandoned by the roadside or found floating in a canal, by a priest or the person who had rescued it from certain death.

After delivery to the Pietà they would be brought up in foster homes until about the age of 6, either in Venice or in the country nearby. They would then be brought back to the Pietà to start life in the institution itself. The boys would be kept there until the age of 16, having been trained in such trades as stone cutting, cotton beating and weaving, and shoe- making, so that when the time came for them to leave a job could be found. The Pietà would keep a close watch to make sure they they were well looked-after by their new employers.

The girls had 3 options. They could enter a convent, although very few chose the religious life, or they could marry, or they could stay at the Pietà indefinitely, which many of them did. These were divided into two groups, the Figlie di Comun and the Figlie di Choro. The former were the non-musicians, who had such duties as sewing, embroidery, weaving, cotton beating, working silk and cooking. They might also be taken into outside families as domestic servants for a period of a few months, coming back to the Pietà under the title of “Figlie di ritorno”.

The Figlie di Choro were primarily musicians, but also had other tasks such as that of Veneranda, whose duty as “Dispensiera” was to take care of the pantry.

The system had democratic checks and balances. All decisions concerning the Figlie of both groups would be taken in principal by the “Priora”, who was in charge of the day to day running of the Pietà and was more often than not a Figlia di Choro. Her submissions were then made to the Board of Governors, a body of about 30 members of noble and wealthy Venetian families which usually met on Sunday mornings. Below the “Priora” the next most senior posts were held by two “Maestre di Choro”, and below them were the two “Scrivane”, who were in effect clerks, though with a great deal of responsibility. The “Scrivane” were also usually Figlie di Choro.

It was in this institution that Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1742) taught the violin from 1703 to 1740 (and the “viola all’inglese from 1704), becoming Maestro dei Concerti, a title and post specially created for him and held by no other master in the history of the Pietà.

The majority of the Figlie di Choro who were named individually on the 1745 statement of account from the Selles firm had been taught, and in some cases brought up musically by Vivaldi, whose memory and influence doubtless stayed with them for the rest of their lives. It is a popular misconception that the Figlie di Choro of the Pietà were all beautiful young girls, and this could not be further from the truth. The musicians named here are of a wide age group: Meneghina dalla Viola was 68 at the time, Cattina 58, Maria 57 and Lugretia 54. Perhaps Gregoria, 17, was more in the image of the later stereotype.

As they had no family names, the ladies of the Pietà were always known by their instrument or voice. By far the most important singled out by Selles was Anna Maria dal Violin, who was born in 1696 and brought up musically by Vivaldi, who probably taught her as soon as he arrived in 1703, although it was usual to start to learn an instrument at the age of 11. Anna Maria was quite exceptional by any standard. An entry in the Pietà’s cash-book shows that in 1712 Vivaldi spent 20 ducats on a violin for her and 12 ducats on one for Bernardina, quite an investment for a girl of 16. Another violin was made specially for her in 1720, supplied by the Selles shop. Her fame was at its height in the 1720s and ‘30s, when Kings, Princes, nobles and other visitors from all over Italy and Europe came to hear her play.  

                                                                             cont'd >

Hospedale della Pietà, Venice

"Vespers...are performed in barred-off galleries solely by girls, of whom the oldest is not twenty years of age. I can conceive of nothing as voluptuous, as moving as this music. What grieved me was these accursed grills, which allowed only tones to go through and concealed the angels of loveliness of whom they were worthy. I talked of nothing else. One day I was speaking of it at M. le Blond's. "If you are so curious," he said to me, "to see these little girls, I can easily satisfy you. I am one of the administrators of the house, and I invite you to take a snack with them." When going into the room that contained these coveted beauties, I felt a tremor of love such as I never experienced before. M. le Blond introduced me to one after another of those famous singers whose voices and names were all that were known to me. "Come, Sophie," -- she was horrible. "Come, Cattina," -- she was blind in one eye. "Come, Bettina," -- the smallpox had disfigured her. Scarcely one was without some considerable blemish. Two or three, however looked tolerable; they sang only in the choruses. I was desolate. During the snack, when we teased them, they made merry. Ugliness does not exclude charms, and I found some in them. Finally, my way of looking at them changed so much that I left nearly in love with all these ugly girls."

                       J. J. Rousseau