OT: The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable

[BrritSki]

Just finished this which muso umrats might enjoy.

I'd love to have heard what Sid made of it as opinions vary on
Goodreads. My 5* review below:

A wonderful book that is a fictionalised account of an extraordinary life.

I love Venice and have visited many times and have walked past the
Ospedale della Pieta while knowing nothing of its amazing history,

I know very little about classical music but even I've heard of Vivaldi
and recognise his more famous pieces. That an orphan girl might have
contributed to them or even written whole works such as L'Extravaganza
is an intriguing idea. I don't discount it completely but surely we'd
have some evidence of other works by Anna Maria while she was head of
music post-Vivaldi ? Some will say that her work was suppressed by the
patriarchy, but given that she was recognised as the premier violinist
(amongst other instruments she played) and feted by Princes and
Cardinals and on down, I think that it's unlikely that everything would
have been lost.

The writing is very stylised but relates beautifully to the music and
the use of colours and synaesthesia is very clever and illustrative.

Loved it which is why I didn't get to sleep until 2AM this morning !

[Kate B]

Post by BrritSki
Just finished this which muso umrats might enjoy.
I'd love to have heard what Sid made of it as opinions vary on
A wonderful book that is a fictionalised account of an extraordinary life.
I love Venice and have visited many times and have walked past the
Ospedale della Pieta while knowing nothing of its amazing history,
I know very little about classical music but even I've heard of Vivaldi
and recognise his more famous pieces. That an orphan girl might have
contributed to them or even written whole works such as L'Extravaganza
is an intriguing idea. I don't discount it completely but surely we'd
have some evidence of other works by Anna Maria while she was head of
music post-Vivaldi ? Some will say that her work was suppressed by the
patriarchy, but given that she was recognised as the premier violinist
(amongst other instruments she played) and feted by Princes and
Cardinals and on down, I think that it's unlikely that everything would
have been lost.
The writing is very stylised but relates beautifully to the music and
the use of colours and synaesthesia is very clever and illustrative.
Loved it which is why I didn't get to sleep until 2AM this morning !

That sounds really interesting. Off to Kindle it.

Female composers have indeed been badly overlooked but people are
beginning to unearth many more than you'd think, and some of them are
fabulous. They were rarely remembered because they rarely had the
opportunity to sell the music to a publisher, being nuns (often) or
princesses (out of the question), or, most frequently, related to a more
famous male composer - we're only now realising how much Mendelssohn
could be Fanny, and how much Schumann may be Clara.

One of my favourites is Suor Leonora d'Este - Lucrezia Borgia's
daughter, who composed the most ravishing music for her sister nuns. And
then there's the remarkable Barbara Strozzi and Francesca Caccini, both
daughters of celebrated poets and musicians. Maddalena Casulana is
enjoying a well-deserved revival - sung by the Sixteen, the Dunedin
Conzort and other crack ensembles. Isabella Leonarda was another nun -
she was in fact published, twenty volumes worth, and is often sung now.
Anna Maria even has her own Wiki page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Maria_della_Piet%C3%A0

But even Vivaldi was lost until the 1920's, something I hadn't realised.
He'd had an affair with an orphan, fled to Vienna and died in poverty.
This is from Gramophone:
Twenty-five years after Vivaldi’s death, a certain Count Giacomo Durazzo
acquired Vivaldi’s scores from La Pietà. His heirs kept them secret,
even stipulating that none of the works in their possession should be
published or performed. It was not until the late 1920s, when the terms
of the will were overthrown, that the treasures came to light.

And the archives of the Pieta are still being catalogued.

[Kate B]

Post by BrritSki
Just finished this which muso umrats might enjoy.
I'd love to have heard what Sid made of it as opinions vary on

snippety poo

But it's not published till August 15th! Is this a knickerflash - where
did you get it from?

EMNTK

[BrritSki]

Post by Kate B

Post by BrritSki
Just finished this which muso umrats might enjoy.
I'd love to have heard what Sid made of it as opinions vary on

snippety poo
But it's not published till August 15th! Is this a knickerflash

Are you suggesting I wrote it ? Oh I wish :)

- where did you get it from?

ARC from Netgalley....

[Kate B]

Post by Kate B

Post by BrritSki
Just finished this which muso umrats might enjoy.
I'd love to have heard what Sid made of it as opinions vary on

snippety poo
But it's not published till August 15th! Is this a knickerflash

Are you suggesting I wrote it ?   Oh I wish   :)
- where did you get it from?
ARC from Netgalley....

Ah, I see. Us mere mortals will have to wait till publication day then...

[BrritSki]

Post by Kate B

Post by Kate B

Post by BrritSki
Just finished this which muso umrats might enjoy.
I'd love to have heard what Sid made of it as opinions vary on

snippety poo
But it's not published till August 15th! Is this a knickerflash

Are you suggesting I wrote it ?   Oh I wish   :)
- where did you get it from?
ARC from Netgalley....

Ah, I see. Us mere mortals will have to wait till publication day then...

:) Your detailed post was very interesting btw....

[Jenny M Benson]

Post by Kate B
Us mere mortals will have to wait till publication day then...

We mere mortals, *please*.

Grammar pedant? Me? Er, well, yes actually.

[Kate B]

Post by Jenny M Benson

Post by Kate B
Us mere mortals will have to wait till publication day then...

We mere mortals, *please*.
Grammar pedant?  Me?  Er, well, yes actually.

Me too. I was making a plebeian point...

[Jim Easterbrook]

Post by Kate B
Twenty-five years after Vivaldi’s death, a certain Count Giacomo Durazzo
acquired Vivaldi’s scores from La Pietà. His heirs kept them secret,
even stipulating that none of the works in their possession should be
published or performed.

Put on hold, were they?

[J. P. Gilliver]

Post by Jim Easterbrook

Post by Kate B
Twenty-five years after Vivaldi’s death, a certain Count Giacomo Durazzo
acquired Vivaldi’s scores from La Pietà. His heirs kept them secret,
even stipulating that none of the works in their possession should be
published or performed.

Put on hold, were they?

I see what you did there! Tick VG.

[J. P. Gilliver]

In message <***@mid.individual.net> at Thu, 4 Jul 2024
16:26:49, Kate B <***@nospam.demon.co.uk> writes
[]

Post by Kate B
Female composers have indeed been badly overlooked but people are
beginning to unearth many more than you'd think, and some of them are

[]

Post by Kate B
both daughters of celebrated poets and musicians. Maddalena Casulana
is enjoying a well-deserved revival - sung by the Sixteen, the Dunedin

[]
Ah, those four-syllable Italians! I always remember Maddalena Fagandini
- not for any particular work, just the sonourousness of her name. (I
think I did like her works too.) She was one of the stars of the BBCRW,
along with Daphne Oram, and the incomparable Delia Derbyshire. (All had
forenames with the same number of syllables as their surnames!)
Actually, the RW did seem to have a higher than usual quota of female
creators.