A Little Vivaldi for Your Day

Camy here! I just turned in the manuscript for my Christian Regency romance coming out next year from Zondervan, and I finally have a title–Prelude for a Lord.

It’s about Lady Alethea Sutherton, who owns a mysterious Stradivarius violin that was bequeathed to her by her neighbor and dear friend, an Italian widow. Living in Bath with her aunt, Alethea is hoping to receive her inheritance in two years and be independent, but then someone tries to steal her violin, putting her life in danger. She needs the help of Lord Dommick, gifted in music and especially the violin, to stop whoever is trying to harm her.

One fantastic part about writing a book about two musicians is that the music of the time period becomes almost like another character in the book! I am a fan of Vivaldi, but I especially listened to a lot of his music in writing this book, both for inspiration and because his music played a significant role in the musical training of the heroine.

One really lovely violin concerto is featured in one of my favorite scenes, where Lord Dommick plays Alethea’s violin for the first time. Alethea’s Italian neighbor and friend, Lady Arkright, had been trained in music in Italy at the Ospedale della Pietà, a home for abandoned children where Vivaldi had been employed from 1703 to 1715 and from 1723 to 1740. After Lady Arkright married her husband and moved to England near Alethea’s home, she taught Alethea to play the violin, including many of her favorite pieces from her teacher, Vivaldi. Lord Dommick knew all this, and so when he first plays Alethea’s violin, in honor of the deceased Lady Arkright, he chooses Vivaldi’s violin concerto number one in G minor.

One great thing about the internet is that you can find recordings for so many pieces of classical music! Here is what Lord Dommick played to Lady Alethea in this scene in my book:

Do you have any favorite classical music pieces?

Camy Tang writes romantic suspense under her real name and Regency romance under her pen name, Camille Elliot. Her first Regency, Prelude for a Lord, releases in summer 2014. She is a staff worker for her church youth group and leads one of the Sunday worship teams. Visit her website at http://www.camytang.com/ to read free short stories and subscribe to her quarterly newsletter.

Originally posted 2013-11-14 05:00:26.