Why was musical education considered (apparently) so important for the girls and young women who studied with Vivaldi at the Ospedali? One presumes that since orphans don't have dowries, they were being prepared for employment. Was music a positive factor in that? Never have seen anything written about it.
John
This is discussed at length in the wonderful new book _The Birth of the Orchestra_ by Neal Zaslaw and John Spitzer.
1) They weren't all orphans. The ospedali were such prestigious institutions that many girls from intact families were sent there--and paid tuition. A girl could also get in by audition. The ospedali, that is to say, were more conservatories than orphanages.
2) There were more ospedali in Venice than just Vivaldi's. I think there were four? Six? Anyway, some of them admitted boys as well as girls--but only the girls got music training!
3) There were similar institutions in other Italian cities as well, but those of Venice were the most famous.
4) The ospedali were a major tourist attraction, and the Venetians knew it.
5) Part of the attraction was sexual. Jokes about Tony Vivaldi and his All Girl Orchestra are not far off the mark.
6) The girls were definitely *not* being prepared for employment. Women orchestra musicians were extremely rare throughout Europe at the time, and would have enjoyed about the same reputation as actresses--i.e., little above prostitutes. I believe graduates were provided with dowries by the ospedale--they certainly were considered eminently marriageable.
-- Andrew Stiller Kallisti Music Press
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