![]() ![]() The Gloria in D is Vivaldi’s most popular choral work and one of his most extensive settings of a liturgical text. If we take it that Vivaldi kept to these conditions throughout the time he was engaged to compose for the Pietà, we can assume that the composer wrote much more sacred music than has come down to us the magnificent works on this recording provide just a snapshot of Vivaldi’s brilliance in this genre. In addition to these pieces, it has since been discovered that there was a contractual requirement for the choir master to compose two new settings of the Mass and Vespers for Easter and the Feast of Visitation. It was during this time that Vivaldi composed the works recorded on this disc. The choir master, Francesco Gasparini, retired in 1713 and his successor was not deemed to have been successful enough as a composer Vivaldi was selected to provide all compositions required for the chapel. It’s important to note also that Vivaldi’s works for the Pietà favour almost exclusively high voices - sopranos and altos - for the solo parts.In 1701 Antonio Vivaldi was appointed violin teacher at the Ospedale della Pietà – an orphanage that specialised in musical training for young girls. ![]() Vivaldi set this text more than once but this version (RV598), for choir, orchestra and three soloists would have perfectly fitted the forces of the Pietà. Modern performances use mixed choirs in this music as a rule as they work perfectly well with a normal disposition of tenors and basses, such as in this setting of the psalm Beatus Vir. The bass parts could have been handled by girls and women with exceptionally deep voices or sung up the octave without damaging the texture the bass parts are always doubled by the bass instruments of the orchestra. Vivaldi’s sacred works written before 1719 have tenor parts which any girl with a low voice can sing, and we must remember there were adult women at the Pietà as well, not just children. The answer is simple and has been proven by recent scholarship beyond reasonable doubt: the girls did. Mixed church choirs were simply not permitted in Catholic Europe at the time so the question arises as to who sang the tenor and bass parts in the choirs. ![]() These works for the Pietà were designed for the girls and women of the institution to sing. ![]()
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