A Portrait of Isabella Leonarda

Suor Isabella Leonarda (6 September, 1620-25 February, 1704), the so-called Muse of Novara, was the most prolific ol all women composers in the 17th century, both inside and outside of cloistered walls. She entered the Collegio di S. Orsola at the age of 16, and remained there for 68 years, serving in all capacities within the convent hierarchy. She published no fewer than 20 collections of motets and other sacred music, nearly 200 compositions spanning virtually every genre of sacred music of her time: Masses, Vesper Psalms, motets in Latin and Italian for 1-4 voices with and without violins, and a collection of sonatas for 1 and 2 violins that stands as one of the only complete collection of instrumental works by a Italian woman at the time. The ten pieces on this recording range from solo motets to large-scale works performed by eight voices and seven instruments.
Cappella Artemisia pays tribute to this remarkable woman whose vast production is still largely and unjustly unknown.

The great Isabella Leonarda, Discovered Anew
The album begins with a bang: Leonarda’s motet Gloriosa mater domini begins with a massive homophonic wall of sound, rich and reverberant on this recording […] Texturally, the cascading imitative lines in the standout motet Memento rerum are simply mesmerizing, and the lower ranges of the ensemble’s voices in O dulce sonare and O anima mea are a beautiful counterpart to the prominence of the higher voices elsewhere on the album. […] The concluding Dixit Dominus is a stellar finish, encapsulating the best features of Leonarda’s style: the contrasts between full ensemble and solo sections grab the listener’s ear, and the concluding triple meter “Amen” is really quite exciting, especially with its cheekily delicate ending. It’s a terrific new album, and one that is sure to enlighten as much as entertain.

Karen Cook, Early Music America

RadioFrance FranceMusique: Diapason D’argent.

Leonarda, la suora degli affreschi musicali:

[…] un viaggio affascinante alla scoperta di alcune di queste pagine, in cui emergono tutto il talento artistico e la sensibilità religiosa della “musa novarese”. […] Un importante contributo nella ricostruzione della splendida colonna sonora che scandiva la vita quotidiana nei conventi italiani tra XVII e XVIII secolo.

Andrea Milanesi, Avvenire

Schlank Und Innig – Musik Von Isabella Leonarda

Isabella Leonarda komponiert stets auf der Höhe barocken Stilempfindens, mit einem Faible für konzertierende Effekte, bei denen sich Singstimme und Instrumente gegenseitig den Ball hin und her werfen. Mit einem schlanken und dennoch innigen Ton zelebrieren die Sängerinnen und Instrumentalistinnen der Cappella Artemisia diesen Klangkosmos und zeichnen so ein detailreiches Porträt von der Komponistin Isabella Leonarda.

Wolfgang Schicker, BR Klassik

Do not be deceived […] by outward appearances. Leonarda was no cloistered sister or shrinking violet. […] In amidst all the glorias and salves and glorias and dixits one hears the unmistakable sound of a creative musician having a frisky amount of fun. […] Isabella Leonard [sic] demands attention from every serious music lover.

Norman Lebrecht, Lebrecht Weekly

Si tratta di tipica musica medio-barocca, ben lavorata ma mai artificiosa, abbastanza virtuosistica […] (belle squillanti Silvia Vajente in Salve Regina ed Elena Bertuzzi in O flammae) […] L’esecuzione è così trasparente da lasciar sentir i singoli timbri: nessuna anonima coralità, insomma, ma si direbbe proprio una originale forma di madrigalismo religioso […]

Piero Mioli, Amadeus