The City, the Girls, the Composer…The Phenomenon
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THE CITY, THE GIRLS, THE COMPOSER…THE PHENOMENON: INFLUENCES ON THE PERFORMANCE OF VIVALDI‟S BASSOON CONCERTOS AT THE OSPEDALE DELLA PIETÀ A Thesis Presented to The Graduate Faculty of The University of Akron In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Music Cynthia M. Duda August, 2009 THE CITY, THE GIRLS, THE COMPOSER…THE PHENOMENON: INFLUENCES ON THE PERFORMANCE OF VIVALDI‟S BASSOON CONCERTOS AT THE OSPEDALE DELLA PIETÀ Cynthia M. Duda Thesis Approved: Accepted: ______________________________ ______________________________ Advisor Dean of the College Dr. Brooks A. Toliver Dr. James M. Lynn ______________________________ ______________________________ Faculty Reader Dean of the Graduate School Mr. Galen S. Karriker Dr. George R. Newkome ______________________________ ______________________________ Department Chair Date Dr. William K. Guegold ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................1 Vivaldi......................................................................................................................3 Venice ......................................................................................................................6 The Ospedali ..........................................................................................................11 II. OSPEDALE DELLA PIETÀ ........................................................................................15 Daily Lives .............................................................................................................16 The Figlie Del Coro ...............................................................................................19 Employees ..............................................................................................................22 Performances..........................................................................................................24 Privileges................................................................................................................27 A Different Perspective..........................................................................................28 Ailments .....................................................................................................29 Anonymity .................................................................................................31 Exploitation ................................................................................................32 III. THE BASSOON AND VIVALDI’S COMPOSITIONAL STYLE IN REFERENCE TO THE BASSOON CONCERTOS ......................................34 The Bassoon Concertos..........................................................................................35 iii The Curtal and the Bassoon ...................................................................................41 Technical Considerations .......................................................................................49 IV. CONCLUSION............................................................................................................54 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..............................................................................................................59 APPENDICES ...................................................................................................................64 APPENDIX A. TABLES AND ILLUSTRATIONS ............................................65 APPENDIX B. MUSICAL EXAMPLES .............................................................69 iv CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION In the summer of 2005, the first annual Meg Quigley Vivaldi Competition was presented at the conference of the International Double Reed Society held in Austin, Texas. This competition was created “…to provide an international competitive experience for young women bassoonists…who have not reached their 24th birthday by the competition…”1 Hearing about this event generated a myriad of questions. Underlying this query was a persistent amazement involving the age of the contemporary contestants in contrast to the audience for whom Vivaldi had written so many of his concertos. The incredulity lay in the fact that, despite all of the advancements in every aspect of life, present day musicians are not expected to play Vivaldi‟s bassoon concertos until they are considerably older. It is well-known that Vivaldi‟s productivity led to the composition of hundreds of works, most notably, more than 400 concertos, at least 37 of which are for the bassoon (see Appendix A.1). These concertos are considered standards in contemporary repertoire and are regularly programmed on both undergraduate student recitals as well as those of seasoned professionals. In general, students of today do not begin studying these 1 Nicolasa Kuster, director, “The Meg Quigley Vivaldi Competition,” 2009. Available from http://www.mqvc.org. 1 works before they are in college and often do not tackle these pieces until they have reached the more advanced junior or senior level of study. The illustrious reputation of the Paris Conservatory speaks for itself. Looking at the lists of bassoon pieces studied throughout the history of this conservatory, one will find that bassoon concertos written by Vivaldi appear several times (beginning in 1970) year after year, as part of the standard repertoire.2 The famed conservatory, which holds its standards at the highest level, recognizes the significance of all bassoon students learning Vivaldi‟s works. This would indicate that his pieces require the highest level of ability and musicianship to be played well. Still, one cannot help but be reminded that these pieces were written for young lady musicians who performed at the Pietà and to find it quite astounding what these girls accomplished so early in life. To attain a better understanding of this age discrepancy, research of the composer, his native Venice, the Pietà, the orphan musicians, and the concertos themselves is essential. The remainder of chapter one will discuss Vivaldi‟s life, the musical atmosphere in eighteenth century Venice, and provide an overview of the four ospedali. Chapter two will focus on the Ospedale della Pietà: the daily lives the girls, the figlie di coro (choir girls), and their performances. In chapter three, I will focus on Vivaldi‟s compositional style in reference to the bassoon concertos, the instruments for which these pieces were written, and the technical facility needed to play them. The final chapter will reflect on the issues that have been explored, draw the conclusion that there is no specific 2 Kristine Klopfenstein Fletcher, The Paris Conservatoire and the Contest Solos for Bassoon (Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1988). 2 cause for the age discrepancy, and raise questions for further research on this puzzling phenomenon. Vivaldi At the heart of the inquiry is the composer, Antonio Lucio Vivaldi, who was born in Venice on March 4, 1678. From the moment of his birth, Vivaldi was burdened with an illness termed strettezza di petto, meaning tightness of the chest, similar to present day chronic asthma.3 Mention is made of this illness because it placed limitations on him throughout his life, and may have influenced his working capacity and career choices. Little is known about Vivaldi‟s early education or musical training. It is thought that he studied violin with his father, worked in the cathedral orchestra of St. Mark‟s as young as ten years old, and while his father was occupied with activities outside of Venice from 1689-1692. There is also speculation that Vivaldi studied theory with Giovanni Legrenzi because of the sacred work, Laetatus sum (RV 607), which demonstrated many of Legrenzi‟s stylistic traits. However, this piece was published a year after Legrenzi‟s death, raising doubt that it was a product of his instruction.4 In spite of Antonio‟s precocious musical talent and his father‟s occupation as a cathedral musician, Vivaldi was destined for the priesthood. It was customary for poor families to send sons to the priesthood in order to reduce the number of persons who 3 H.C. Robbins Landon, Vivaldi: Voice of the Baroque (New York: Thomas and Hudson, 1993), 16. 4 Landon,15. 3 could inherit the parents‟ property when they died.5 It is worthy to note that the combination of a musical career and the priesthood was not at all unusual in the eighteenth century. Much of the music of this period was written for church ceremonies and with Vivaldi‟s experiences as a cathedral musician, the amalgamation of his careers was a logical one. In Vivaldi‟s case, however, there was a pronounced imbalance and music became his dominant function. Only a few months after his ordination, the 25-year old il prete rosso, or the red priest as he was known because of his hereditary red hair, was appointed to the Ospedale della Pietà, one of four Venetian charitable organizations for orphaned girls.6 This place, as will be addressed later in this work, occupied a great portion of his life and influenced much of his musical composition during a forty year time span. While the focus of this paper is centered on the Pietà, it is important to view certain aspects of Vivaldi‟s personality and musical activities to create a more complete picture. As a priest, Vivaldi ceased saying Mass because of his asthmatic ailment. He recorded that on at least three occasions he had to stop and leave the altar without completing the Mass because of his illness.7 While this meant