Vivaldi was known to experiment with changes in instrumentation. The manuscript for the concerto for sopranino recorder clearly shows the heading 'Concerto per Flautino' written in the centre of the upper margin; to the right of this is written (presumably at a later date) 'Gl’istromenti trasportati alla 4a bassa' allowing the concerto to be played down a 4th on a larger recorder.

The destination for this concerto was almost certainly the Pietà; this institution evidently possessed a player capable of playing Vivaldi’s three virtuoso flautino concertos and C minor concerto for treble recorder. If a player of this talent had worked on the freelance circuit, it is likely that someone else would also have composed concertos to add to their repertoire. The fact that Vivaldi’s concertos survive in their own bubble, suggests that their intended soloist was a player with little access to outside movement, such as a member of the Pietà’s figlie di coro.

from notes by Adrian Chandler © 2022