Charles Burney

The Present State of Music in France and Italy (2nd, corrected edition)

London: T. Becket and Co., 1773

Venice

I saw this morning, at the Franciscans, a
little picture under the pulpit, by Santa
Croce, which is much admired, and
thought to be a good deal in the stile of
Raphael, in which there is a concert of
cherubs and seraphs; and I observed
among several different kinds of lutes
and guitars, an instrument played with
a bow, resting, like a violin, upon the
shoulder of the performer, but it had six
strings.

After I had seen these, and some more
churches, I had the honour of a long
conversation with Conte Torre Taxis,
who is here a person of great weight *;
he is Superintendant-general of the Ger-
man and Venetian post-office, was a great
friend of Tartini, is now in possession of
all his MS. compositions, shewed me a
great number of them, and has defended
his friend in a pamphlet, of which he did