Published in Amsterdam, it circulated very widely, made him famous and admired, prompted visitors to Venice, generated commissions, and so on. 3 of 1711, titled “L’estro armonico” (harmonic inspiration), really put him on the map. Vivaldi became famous throughout Europe thanks to his publications. One enterprising historical novelist posits that Girò was actually Vivaldi’s illegitimate daughter, a “solution” that absolves him of unseemly interaction with the singer to replace it with unpriestly behavior with her mother. For example, his friendship with opera singer Anna Girò, which began in the 1720s and lasted for the remainder of his life, was a cause for scandal even though they always had separate accommodations when travelling, and Girò was always accompanied by her much older half-sister acting as chaperone. While still in his 20s he stopped saying mass altogether, although expectations for his conduct as a priest remained throughout his life. Not surprisingly, he was not especially committed to the pastoral responsibilities of priesthood, and one famous anecdote has him stopping in the middle of saying mass to dash into the sacristy and write down a musical idea (some versions of this story have him writing an entire fugue) before returning to the service. Venice especially had a large number of priest-musicians.īecause he had red hair, Vivaldi became known as “il prete rosso”-the red priest. In those days, especially in Venice, becoming a priest was an avenue for professional advancement. Thanks to his father, he became a virtuoso violinist in addition, he was ordained as a priest in 1703. Three of his siblings died before the age of 5, and he had lifelong health problems himself (possibly bronchial asthma). He was incredibly supportive of his son, working with him as an impresario in their operatic ventures, travelling with him, and serving as his primary copyist for many years. His father was a violinist at the famous San Marco in Venice (after starting out as a barber) he was probably a composer as well. When I was an undergraduate we didn’t even know Vivaldi’s birthdate now we have a considerable amount about his life and his upbringing. His contributions to musical style, violin technique and the practice of orchestration were substantial, and he was a pioneer of orchestral programme music.” The New Grove sums up his significance by describing him as follows: “The most original and influential Italian composer of his generation, he laid the foundations for the mature Baroque concerto. She is a founder member of the Voices of London Festival, and is also a published and prize-winning composer.Vivaldi is one of those incredibly important composers whose works remain far too little known, especially the compositions using voice. In addition to her regular conducting work, Hilary also acts as an adjudicator, choral workshop leader and guest conductor. She also runs an annual project with Master of the Queen’s Music, Judith Weir, at the Royal Academy of Music, in conjunction with Blossom Street and the RAM composition department, and is conductor of P&O Ferries Choir, the group which won the BBC2 series The Choir, and whom she met whilst filming for the series. 2 at Royal Festival Hall conducted by Semyon Bychkov. Her guest work includes ensembles such as the BBC Symphony Chorus, Trinity Laban Chamber Choir, BBC Radio 4’s Daily Service Singers, the University of Greenwich Choir and the Royal Academy of Music Symphony Chorus, whom she recently prepared for a performance of Mahler Symphony No. Hilary Campbell is a freelance choral specialist, and is founder and Musical Director of professional chamber choir Blossom Street, and Musical Director of Bristol Choral Society, Chiswick Choir and the Music Makers of London.
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