Annotation:Souvenir de Venice
X:1 T:Souvenir de Venice M:2/4 L:1/8 R:Hornpipe S:Ryan’s Mammoth Collection (1883) Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:Eb B, | E2 G/>G/ (3B/G/.E/ | D2 F/>F/ (3A/F/.D/ | C/>D/E/>F/ G2 | F/>G/F/>D/ D/>C/B,/>A,/ | G,(B B)c/>G,/ | A,(c c)e/>E/ | D/>E/F/>G/ A/>F/D/>F/ |1 (3E/G/.B/ (3A/F/.D/ E :|2 (3E/G/.B/ (3A/F/.D/ Ez || |: ge e/>gb/>g/ | fd d/>f/b/>d/ | ec ca/>g/ | f/>e/d/>c/ B/>A/G/>F/ | E/D/ (f2 g/>)D/ | E(g g)b/>B/ | =A/>B/c/>d/ e/>c/A/>c/ | (3B/d/.f (3e/c/.=A/ B/>_A/G/>F/ | E/>G/B/>G/ e/>B/G/>E/ | D/>F/B/>F/ d/>F/E/>D/ | C/>D/E/>C/ A/>G/F/>E/ | D/>E/F/>E/ D/>C/B,/>A,/ | G,/B,/E/G/ A,/C/F/A/ | B,/E/G/B/ C/F/A/c/ | B/>e/d/>c/ B/>A/G/>F/ | (3E/G/.B/ (3A/F/.D/ Ez :: g/e/B/G/ E/g/f/=e/ | f/d/B/F/ D/f/e/d/ | e/c/G/E/ C/e/d/c/ | d/B/F/D/ B,/>C/B,/>A,/ | G,/B,/e/g/ A,/C/F/A/ | B,/E/G/B/ C/F/A/c/ | B/>e/d/>c/ B/>A/G/>F/ | (3E/G/.B/ (3A/F/.D/ E :|
SOUVENIR DE VENICE. American?, Italian?; Hornpipe (2/4 time). E Flat Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABBCC. This melody (which is similar to the “Banks Hornpipe (1)”) was composed by a popular late 19th century stage violinist named Paul Louis Ostinelli, an Italian who arrived in Boston in the mid-1810's. He was a graduate of the Paris Conservatory, and a second violinist with the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston in 1817, making his debut as a solo violinist in 1818. He was also the first musician to perform the music of Beethoven in Boston. Subsequently, Ostinelli lead several of the city's prestigious ensembles and orchestras (such as the Philharmonic Society and the theater orchestra), through the 1840's. In 1822 he wed Sophia Hewitt, a native of Boston and an extremely talented musician in her own right. In 1818 she was employed as the Handel and Haydn society's organist and accompanist and held the position for a decade, "the only women they ever employed in this capacity, before or since." The couple produced a daughter, Eliza, before separating sometime before 1833, after which Sophia and her daughter moved to Portland, Maine, where she taught music. Eliza became a singer, with a Boston patron providing enough money to further her education in Europe. She sailed with her father in 1843 for Naples and studied under well-known teachers, notably with Giuditta Pasta. In 1847 she married an Italian cellist, Count Alessandro Biscaccianti, returning to New York with him where she made her debut at the Astor Opera House as Amina in La sonnambula.
Michael Broyles references Ostinelli in his book Music of the Highest Class: Elitism and Populism in Antebellum Boston:
He was keenly aware of the reputation the violin had as a vernacular instrument in New England. According to several anecdotes, he was furious when his violin was referred to as a fiddle or when he was requested to play dance music. Once when asked by a lady if he was to play for a dance following a concert, he deliberately cut his violin strings and said 'Veree story, veree story, madam, you see I can no play.'
It is somewhat ironic that his lasting musical fame appears to be in this reel and “Ostinelli's Reel,” printed in Ryan’s Mammoth Collection/Cole’s 1000, for many years the primary texts for those “vernacular” fiddlers in the United States. Ostinelli’s variations on "Souvenir de Venice" are often used in modern times as a finale to “Banks Hornpipe (1).” See also another variant from the 1883 music manuscript collection of County Leitrim musician Stephen Grier, entered as "Morgan's Hornpipe" (Cornphiopa Ui Mhuireagain).
