Vivaldi: Illness to Musical Mastery

Welcome to a new episode of Origins of Music. Vivaldi's chronic chest illness actually

saved his musical legacy. From birth, he struggled with severe respiratory

problems, what he called a "tightness of the chest," likely asthma. The condition was

so debilitating he couldn't even walk normally, relying on gondolas and carriages just

to move around Venice. In 1703, he became a priest, but within a year his illness forced

him to stop celebrating Mass. He'd literally have to leave the altar mid-service,

gasping for air. The church granted him permission to step back from regular duties,

and that's when everything changed. Suddenly freed from the physical demands of priesthood,