The Instrumentalist

The Ospedale della Pietà was a convent and charitable organization in Venice founded during the 14th century. Initially a hospice for those without funds to pay for their own care, it was one of four, large Ospedales (residential institutions) built to provide services to the city’s under-resourced, ill, and unhoused populations. By the 18th century, it had morphed into the orphanage and music school depicted in The Instrumentalist. The Pietà received unwanted infants through a scafetta, a small window only large enough to admit newborns. Some of the infants were, like Anna Maria, children of women unable to provide for them. Others were, like Elizabetta Marcini’s young daughter, the children of the wealthy born of “troubled” circumstances, such as extra-marital relationships or sexual assault.

Both male and female infants were accepted, and all children received a high-quality education and began apprenticeship to a particular trade at the age of 10. Beginning in the mid-16th century, girls who demonstrated musical talent were given additional musical training and a position in the figlie di coro, the Pietà’s all-female orchestra. The orchestra was renowned as one of the best in Europe, and its concerts generated a considerable amount of income for the Pietà. Concerts were given on-site in the Pietà’s chapel, but the girls also traveled to perform at other, outside locations at the behest of the Pietà’s wealthy donors.

Even when performing outside of the Pietà, the girls were kept closely guarded. They were seen as wards of the church and were not allowed freedom of movement. Some were, as Anna Maria observes in horror, married off to Venetians who demonstrated enough material wealth to provide for a wife. Although Anna Maria is determined to avoid this fate, at the time it would have been seen as an attractive option to many of the girls.

Antonio Vivaldi was one of the Pietà’s music teachers between 1703 and 1735, and Anna Maria della Pietà was one of its greatest stars. She was, as she is depicted in the novel, a violin prodigy whose talent was apparent even at the age of eight. She was likely born in 1696 and lived the entirety of her life at the Pietà. Vivaldi recognized her talent early on, and many of his most famous concertos were written especially for her. She attained the honorific “maestra” at the age of 24 and, after Vivaldi left, she assumed the position of maestra di violin and then, maestra di coro, the leader of the entire orchestra. In The Instrumentalist, this position is called the “Master of Music.” Chiara and Sanza’s characters are also based on historical figures: Anna Maria della Pieta trained them both during her career leading the figlie di coro. In addition to conducting and performing with the Pietà’s orchestra, Anna Maria composed her own music, achieving fame that few women in music had during that era. She died at the Pietà in 1782.

Vivaldi’s time at the Pietà was not without controversy. He was known for emotional volatility and his quick temper, and he was not always popular with staff or students. The board of directors had to vote each year to retain or dismiss its teachers, and they were not unanimous in their support for his work at the Pietà. He was dismissed in 1709, but reinstated two years later. Although he was not personally liked by everyone, his overall influence on the musical program was positive, and during his absence the orchestra suffered. Vivaldi was a popular composer during his lifetime, and wrote many of his most famous pieces for the orchestra at the Pietà. His popularity waned in the years following his death, but he is now considered one of the finest Baroque composers. Many of his works, including his best-known piece, The Four Seasons, are still widely performed all over the world.