Music From The Venetian Ospedali

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Editorial reviews

Album Description
The recording is the first to feature adolescent female voices performing music sung by the young female orphans of the 18th century Venetian ospedali. The ospedali repertoire is considered to be the largest existing collection of music for female voices and is known for its great rhythmic vitality, vivid solo writing, and a clear tonal framework and musical form. In the 1300s, the ospedali began in Venice as homes for orphans and foundlings and later evolved into music conservatories for young girls. Ospedali choirs were the first to perform four-part music composed for girls voices and attracted top composers, including Vivaldi, who many scholars believe composed 'Gloria' specifically for female voices during his 30 years as concertmaster and violin teacher at the Ospedale della Pieta. The 65-minute recording features the 45-voice Chorissima, SFGC's large concert and touring ensemble; the 26-voice Ospedali Chorus, comprised of Virtuose, SFGC's small concert ! and touring ensemble, plus Chorus alumnae. The SFGC Sinfonia accompanies the choral ensembles and features some of the best early music players in the Bay Area.

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Amazon.com
One shudders at the number of good recordings of Vivaldi's Gloria available (such as the famous account, newly reissued, with Riccardo Muti), but this one is both superb and different. The entire disc is devoted to music composed for the homeless (or wayward) girls who lived at the Venetian Ospedali in the early 18th century and, in addition to a version of the Gloria in which women sing the bass and tenor lines an octave higher than composed, introduces us to very-little-known music by Giovanni Porta, Nicola Porpora, and Francesco Brusa. Once one adjusts to the lack of low voices, this CD surprises time and again with the quality and diversity of the lovely sounds actually made by the "girls" in this chorus. Clearly aware of the importance of various textures in polyphonic music, the chorus, under the leadership of Sharon Paul, pulls out all the stops: They whisper and caress; they exult at full voice. Tempi are nicely old-fashioned and slow in the Vivaldi, and all of the other music is worth hearing. This is a special CD, and an auspicious debut. Go for it. --Robert Levine

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Customer reviews

review by: Classics date: 2008-12-22 rating:
Excellent Recording
The San Francisco Girls Chorus presents a concert as it very well might have sounded in 18th century Venice. Firstly, only young women sing as was the case in the Venetian Ospedali and, secondly, the low parts are transposed up or sung by girls with low voices. Overall, I must say that it seems that a lot of the low parts are transposed so the overall effect is one of choral works for high voices, although the bass instruments have a fill-in effect. The Frenchman de Brosses told that the girls of the ospedali sang like angels, and this recording evokes that impression given the youthful, but strong, voices of the girls of the San Francisco Girls Chorus.
The Vivaldi is well-known, but the compositions by Porta, Porpora and Brusa are not and they are really high quality compositions that are not simply of academic interest, but also appeal to the senses on a visceral level.
The instrumental ensemble includes some of the best Californian performers of early music. They play on historical instruments. This recording is very serious and will appeal not only to a general audience, but also to the discriminating tastes of early music fans.

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review by: date: 1999-09-04 rating:
wow
this is such an incredible, powerful cd! the voices are beautiful and the blend is exquisite! definitely recommended!


review by: date: 1999-04-29 rating:
Terrific
This is an amazing CD. The singing is so beautifully textured and I found this CD a perfect joy to listen to. The San Francisco Girls Chorus is truly amazing and I look forward to thier next CD. You must own this album!

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