It was the publication of Opus 3, however, that made Vivaldi's reputation in Europe, and the collection was soon reprinted by John Walsh, in London ( Vivaldi' s most Celebrated Concertos) and by Le Clerce Cadet in Paris, with the title somewhat bizarrely rendered as Les Troharnonico. I swear to you that there is nothing more pleasing than to see a pretty young nun in a white habit, with a spray of pomegranate blossom behind her ear, conducting the orchestra and beating time with all the grace and precision imaginable' (Charles de Brosses, Lettres familières sur l'Italie). They sing like angels, and play the violin, the flute, the organ, the oboe, the cello, the bassoon in short, there is no instrument so large that it could frighten them. They are brought up at the expense of the State, and they are trained only to excel in music. There are four of them, all consisting of bastard girls or orphans, and those whom their parents are in no position to bring up. 'The transcendant music is that of the hospitals. This orphanage was one of the four famous institutions in Venice that offered a musical training to young girls, and Vivaldi directed concerts on Sundays and feast-days which very soon acquired a reputation with visitors from far outside the city. Prior to this, Vivaldi's only printed works had been two sets of sonatas published in Venice: twelve trio sonatas (Opus 1) in 1705 and twelve solo sonatas (Opus 2) in 1709, both stemming from his activities as violin teacher at the Conservatorio dell' Ospedale della Pietà . L'Estro Armonico is a title that defies translation neither The Harmonic Fancy nor The Musical Flush suggests quite the right combination of genius and fantasy that prompted Estienne Roger, the shrewdest of the 18th-century publishers, to issue this set of twelve concertos in 1711.
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