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hundred and twenty, and in the other, two hundred.
That each of them has two principal Maestri di Capella, the first of whom su- perintends and corrects the compositions of the students; the second the singing, and gives lessons. That there are assistant masters, who are called Maestri Secolari; one for the violin, one for the violon- cello, one for the harpsichord, one for the hautbois, one for the french-horn, and so for other instruments.
To my fourth enquiry he answered, that boys are admitted from eight or ten to twenty years of age; that when they are taken in young they are bound for eight years; but, when more advanced, their admission is difficult, except they have made a considerable progress in the study and practice of music. That after boys have been in a Conservatorio for some years, if no genius is discovered, they are dissmissed to make way for others. That some are taken in as pen-
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