vivaldi women

In 1703, Vivaldi was hired by the Ospedale della Pietà, an orphanage for girls in Venice, a position he was to hold for the next 36 years. Initially hired as a violin teacher, he was given more and more responsibility.

The girls often stayed at the orphanage for the rest of their lives. They were divided into two groups, those who received a musical education and those who received a general education.
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At Mass, they performed behind screens (grill work) so as not to distract the congregation, which explains why, traditionally, musicians and choir singers were in a loft at the back of church. This is the correct way to do it. The modernist church puts choirs in front, sometimes right in the sanctuary, if there is one. The right focus is the altar.

​Though they would have worn the white veils to cover head and shoulders (to require that would make a television production less appealing), here is an authentic re-creation of how it was done.

There are biblical reasons for a veil. I think it makes a woman more beautiful.
​The red lamp is the sanctuary lamp, lit when Our Lord is present in the tabernacle.
During research I read something else about Vivaldi. I don’t know if this is true, but it has been written that he left the altar while saying Mass to write a musical thought and returned after several minutes, and did this more than once. If true, this would explain his request for dispensation as a priest.
There are other explanations, including severe asthma attacks at the altar.