Vivaldi’s Violins and Choro’s Daughters

The exhibition ‘Vivaldi’s violins and Choro’s daughters’ at the Violin’s Museum in Cremona, from the 5th of May to the 1st of August (dates to be confirmed on the bases of the anti-covid regulations), by Fausto Cacciatori, Deborah Pase and Federico Maria Sardelli, analyses “this wonderful age through the instruments chosen and used by the “red priest” and by the girls of the Ospedale della Pietà in Venice”.
This ancient institution, which used to welcome the abandoned children, was also an excellent music school where the abandoned talented girls were taught singing and music in general. Vivaldi worked there from 1703 to 1740, first as violin’s teacher and then as concerts’ conductors. He was also in charge of the choice and the purchase of the music instruments. In that period the Ospedale bought more than 50 instruments and the majority of them were part of a collection which includes some very important and precious instruments, made by famous violin-makers: two cellos by Matteo Goffriller and one violin by Pietro Guarneri. The instruments are presented after an intense analysis and restoration work carried out by the Violin’s Museum, the Master Degree in Safeguard and Restoration of the Cultural Heritage of Pavia University and Cr.Forma. Moreover, some documents, pictures and objects will allow to analyse the history of the Ospedale della Pietà, a unique place in Europe with extremely high standards of education. In particular the Choro’s Daughters were appreciated musicians and choristers. The exhibition analyses their history: they used to be abandoned were they were little babies and then they were selected for their talent and taught by very famous masters like Francesco Gasparini and Antonio Vivaldi.
Thinking about the technical characteristics of his pupils, Vivaldi used to choose personally the best violins for the Choro’s daughters. The exhibition “Vivaldi’s Violins and Choro’s Daughters” is promoted by the Violin’s Museum and by the Istituto Provinciale per l’Infanzia Santa Maria della Pietà in Venice, in cooperation with the Cultural District of Violin-Making in Cremona and Michelangelo Foundation, with the support of Lombardy Region and Cariplo Foundation.