Review: The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable
The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable gives life to real historical figure Anna Maria della Pietà, a musical prodigy brought up in the Pietà convent orphanage learning music and eventually earning a spot within the ranks of the prestigious figlie di coro. While Anna Maria was a real person and a talented student of Vivaldi, I admit I did not know who she was before reading this book. Little is known about the real Anna Maria other than she grew up in the orphanage, was a student of Vivaldi, and went on to enjoy a successful lifelong career as a music teacher and maestro.
Harriet Constable describe Anna Maria as having synesthesia, the ability to assign colors to sounds (or perceive sounds as colors.) As such, music for Anna Maria is a very visceral experience. She draws the notice of Vivaldi at just eight years old due to her prodigy level talent on the violin. He soon takes her on as his private student and mentors her musical growth in not just playing and technique, but also writing. As Anna Maria grows into a young woman, she lives and breathes music, yet she also lives at the whim of her fickle and aloof music master Vivaldi. Anna Maria’s drive, ambition, and resolve to achieve at an accelerated rate to change her lot in life and win her teacher’s approval is a force to be reckoned with. Anna Maria is willing to do whatever it takes, even at the cost of her personal friendships, to win a coveted role within the figlie and later the seat of first violin. I suspect some readers may not find Anna Maria as likeable, and while I don’t fully agree with her single-mindedness at the expense of others, I can understand her motivation in being that way because of her upbringing and knowing that she herself is the only vehicle for changing her life as a humble orphan.
Reading this book as an adult woman, I can clearly see the manipulation tactics Vivaldi (several years her senior) uses against naive teenage Anna Maria to achieve his own ambitions. While he presumably marvels at her talent, he is also painted as jealous and cold, willing to trample and use those in his path to get to the top. Toward the end of the book I was very much struck with the parallel and similarities to (as funny as it sounds) the professional relationship between Andy and Miranda in The Devil Wears Prada, but in early 18th century Venice.
Harriet Constable’s writing style and descriptions are vivid and sumptuous, particularly in her depictions of Anna Maria’s synesthesia. The Instrumentalist also partly reminded of Orphan Song by Lauren Kate. While the conclusion was fitting, the themes and lessons tying up the end were a tad overdone and predictable, but that did not ruin my enjoyment of the book overall.
The Instrumentalist will be released August 20, 2024
