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"Venetian Gala Concert," 1782, by Francesco Guardi. The painting depicts a Gala concert given in Venice for the Tsarevich Paul of Russia and his wife, Maria Feodorovna, by women of the Ospedale della Pietà. Alte Pinakothek, Bavarian State Painting Collections, Munchen. Cropped imaged. Public Domain
Think of some characteristic sounds of Venice: water slapping against the stones of the canals, oars dipping into the water, gondoliers chattering, the peal of church bells.
Now add one more sound: a bright ribbon of strings and voices rising from a chapel gallery where the musicians, all women, perform unseen behind metal grillwork and lace curtains.
Andrew Benson Brown is the outreach director for the Society of Classical Poets and the author of “Legends of Liberty,” an epic poem about the American Revolution.
