MULIERIBUS

The twelfth concert of the Orquesta Barroca de Tenerife pays tribute to the performers of the Ospedale della Pietá in Venice and the maestros who during the Baroque built a better world through Music. 

The Venice of the time was a cosmopolitan city, full of contrasts and great social differences. Among the projects for social inclusion and to support the population in their most basic needs were the charitable organizations, which through education, trades, handicrafts and tasks provided training for the orphans to direct their lives towards a brighter future. These charities helped to resist demographic pressure, give stability to society and keep Western culture in peace and balance.

Among the four most important hospices was the Ospedale della Pietá, where one of the great music “conservatoires” of the Europe of the time was formed. In the abundant letters which are kept at different libraries, we have evidence of the music heritage they left and the excellence of the performers who filled the salons with famous concerts during most of the Venetian Baroque and Rococo.

According to Walter Hill, in Vivaldi’s lifetime the maestri di coro della Pietá were Francesco Gasparini, Carlo Luigi Pietragrua, Giovanni Porta, Gennaro D'Alessandro, Nicola Porpora and Andrea Bernasconi. Before them, Johann Rosenmüller was the choirmaster. That is why tonight’s performance starts with one of his compositions.  

The excellent technical skill and the command of the Italian style of the female performers who were educated at la Pietá is clearly evident in the works chosen for this evening, which were expressly composed for them. The pieces show the distinguished laboratory and the interpretative scale and accuratezza of Italian music of the time.