To adapt to the all-female ensembles of convents, the performers on this recording transpose bass vocal parts up an octave, while the instrumental basso continuo plays at pitch.
Historical Context
Church authorities in the 17th century attempted to restrict music-making in convents, forbidding instruments other than the clavichord or violone da gamba and limiting polyphonic singing.
Composer Biography
Isabella Leonarda, born Anna Isabella Leonardi, was a nun who lived in the Congregazione delle Vergini di S. Orsola convent from age 16 until her death at 84.
Performer Biography
Cappella Artemisia, founded by Candace Smith, is an all-women ensemble dedicated to performing music from Italian convents of the 16th and 17th centuries.
Cultural Impact
Cappella Artemisia takes its name from the painter Artemisia Gentileschi, aiming to bring recognition to neglected musical achievements of women composers from convent walls, similar to Gentileschi's artistic recognition.
Composition History
Isabella Leonarda is the most prolific woman composer of the 17th century, publishing nearly 200 compositions across various sacred music genres.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Isabella Leonarda, the composer, was known for her "peregrine inventions, universal genius, felicity in the expression of the affects, fecundity of ideas, adornment of fundamental theories."
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