giggling at the redhead priest, hardly listening to a word the violin
teacher told them, so that the Maestra had to bang with her wooden
stick on the stone floor several times to rally their attention. It was
only Anna Maria who stood quietly, taking in all he said. So that
she was the obvious and only choice to join the Figlie di Coro. The
gigglers would continue to attend music classes, but the rest of
their education would be focused on household tasks in preparation
for life outside the Pietà.
Much to his own surprise, Antonio had discovered in
himself a real gift for selecting the right girls. Sometimes he had
no rational explanation for a certain choice, and often had a terrible
job finding arguments to convince the Maestra and the governors
that his decision had been the right one. ‘Did you not see how she
held her bow?’ crowed the Maestra when Antonio had once more
picked someone out of the group who was apparently not her own
first choice. ‘She’ll never get anywhere; that must be obvious to
everyone? A pure waste of time.’
Antonio always got wound up over such short sightedness;
of course the girls were still just children, but it was his task to
teach them. ‘It is a great shame so few people recognise true
quality, whilst we offer such enthusiastic applause for so much
less,’ he would remark with as much restraint as he could muster.
Up until now it had appeared that, to the great discomfort of his
superiors, his judgement had been infallible. Such moments had
not added to the popularity of the young priest. But gradually the
quality of the choir had improved and Maestro di Coro Francesco
Gasparini, clearly satisfied with both musical and pedagogic
qualities in the young Vivaldi, had offloaded more and more tasks
and responsibilities onto his shoulders. All these Antonio had
eagerly accepted, leaving Gasparini with his hands free to compose
operas and perform them in the theatres of Venice.
The younger girls did not always find their life easy. As yet
unconscious of their own musical talent, they often had at first to
contend with the jealousy of their sisters. They might make an
angelic impression upon their audience; among themselves they
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