Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) was an ordained priest, a violin virtuoso, an influential music teacher and one of the great Baroque composers. Vivaldi's "Gloria" (D Major, RV 589) remains his most popular choral work, due equally to its vocal accessibility and exquisite harmonic painting. Believed to have been composed for a girls' orphanage in Venice, it calls for relatively limited forces (which means it can be performed in a variety of ways) - but its flexibility stands second to its numerous moments of contagious joy and sheer beauty, particularly in the "Et In Terra Pax" ("And On Earth Peace") movement, which travels through a wide range of tonalities, evoking the elusive nature of peace on earth.