Women's Music Training in the Italian Orphanage

Presenter Hometown

Louisville

Major

Music performance

Department

Music

Degree

Undergraduate

Mentor

Nathan Jasinski

Mentor Department

Music

Abstract

In the classical and baroque era the Italian Ospedali aided in the spread and practice of Italian music, while benefitting all who participated. Although this exact practice has declined since the Baroque and classical era, there are still programs that have a similar mission and seek to uphold similar values. Currently no one source provides historical context, descriptive information about the programs and its participants while also providing information about similar modern day practices. I would like to connect all this information into one descriptive and cohesive presentation, to demonstrate the positive impact music can have on at risk populations. The definition of the Italian word “Ospedali” is hospital, however over time Ospedali became much more than a hospital to its residents; it became a charitable institution for orphans and abandoned girls. Important research questions are: What is the Ospedali? What was their music training? What was the structure of these programs? How many were there? How did these programs affect the participants? How did they affect music in the city they were located in as a whole? And are there programs in modern times that are similar to these? The purpose of this research is to inform and educate the reader about Italian music training in the Ospedali in the baroque and classical eras and provide examples of programs today all over the world that are designed to help their participants in the same ways. In this paper I will discuss the economic, social and cultural reasons these institutions developed, how music training was taught and how it affected the orphans as well as what other institutions with similar goals are still in place today. The Italian Ospedali were charitable institutions that arose from the need to help those who could not help themselves. The black plague and the Italian wars caused a high mortality rate, poverty and a shift in the way people thought about life. The population increased because, babies were born out of wedlock and abandoned with nowhere to go until the Ospedali were restructured to take in babies and raise them as orphans. The Ospedali gave orphans an opportunity to grow and become functional members of society through educating them in a trade that would turn into a career as they transitioned to adulthood. The Ospedali offered music programs to its female students, which gave them the opportunity to learn music from famous teachers, performers, and composers using state of the art instruments, and perform for crowds of people of all classes. The music programs in the Venetian and Florentine Ospedali brought fame, recognition, and tourism to Italy which helped the economies of the communities each Ospedali resided in. It is likely that the modern-day versions of the Ospedali have the potential to be just as successful.

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Women's Music Training in the Italian Orphanage

In the classical and baroque era the Italian Ospedali aided in the spread and practice of Italian music, while benefitting all who participated. Although this exact practice has declined since the Baroque and classical era, there are still programs that have a similar mission and seek to uphold similar values. Currently no one source provides historical context, descriptive information about the programs and its participants while also providing information about similar modern day practices. I would like to connect all this information into one descriptive and cohesive presentation, to demonstrate the positive impact music can have on at risk populations. The definition of the Italian word “Ospedali” is hospital, however over time Ospedali became much more than a hospital to its residents; it became a charitable institution for orphans and abandoned girls. Important research questions are: What is the Ospedali? What was their music training? What was the structure of these programs? How many were there? How did these programs affect the participants? How did they affect music in the city they were located in as a whole? And are there programs in modern times that are similar to these? The purpose of this research is to inform and educate the reader about Italian music training in the Ospedali in the baroque and classical eras and provide examples of programs today all over the world that are designed to help their participants in the same ways. In this paper I will discuss the economic, social and cultural reasons these institutions developed, how music training was taught and how it affected the orphans as well as what other institutions with similar goals are still in place today. The Italian Ospedali were charitable institutions that arose from the need to help those who could not help themselves. The black plague and the Italian wars caused a high mortality rate, poverty and a shift in the way people thought about life. The population increased because, babies were born out of wedlock and abandoned with nowhere to go until the Ospedali were restructured to take in babies and raise them as orphans. The Ospedali gave orphans an opportunity to grow and become functional members of society through educating them in a trade that would turn into a career as they transitioned to adulthood. The Ospedali offered music programs to its female students, which gave them the opportunity to learn music from famous teachers, performers, and composers using state of the art instruments, and perform for crowds of people of all classes. The music programs in the Venetian and Florentine Ospedali brought fame, recognition, and tourism to Italy which helped the economies of the communities each Ospedali resided in. It is likely that the modern-day versions of the Ospedali have the potential to be just as successful.