Isabella Leonarda

Anna Isabella Leonarda (1620 – 1704) was born into a prominent Novarese family, who had strong links with the Catholic church. At the age of 16, Isabella became a nun at the convent of Sant’Orsola. Here she served a number of roles, including: administrator madre (Mother Superior), madre vicaria (Vicaress), and consigliera (Counsellor). Her duties included teaching music, being a clerk, and a madre (mother) in the congregation.

As a Baroque composer, Leonarda ventured into almost every sacred genre. From motets to spiritual concertos, psalm settings to masses; she composed a wide range of repertoire, much of which has survived to this day. However, due to her being a nun, Isabella’s music only became widely known in the 19th and 20th centuries. Throughout her scores, Isabella uses musical components (e.g. tempo and dynamics) to personally express the characters and emotions of the religious texts.

Overall, Leonarda is considered to be a prominent woman composer of this period, particularly due to the “quantity and quality” of her works. Her career spanned over 60 years, which was very unusual in the 17th century, and would even be so today. Plus, she published more than 250 works, which evolved with the changing musical environment around her. Here is her Sonata duodecima: