LEONARDA ISABELLA
Isabella Leonarda was one of a small number of women musicians of the seventeenth century, and the only one to have left us such a vast amount of music.
Her life certainly differed from that of her more or less famous male “colleagues”, for she was a nun composer with a great sense of devotion to the Virgin Mary.
Music was for Leonarda an expression of her deep faith, a reflection of the parallel between divine and human order, contemplated and experienced through her own creative abilities.
Her more than two hundred compositions include her instrumental works: the twelve sonatas for 1, 2, 3 and 4 instruments from her op. XVI.
The sonata as a form took hold in the centers of northern Italy, and for 3/4th of a century, or approximately until 1650, it was cultivated almost exclusively in that area.
It was nearly always published in groups of 6 or 12, and collections would conclude with a final sonata, often in the form of variations (such as Corelli’s Follia, op. V, n. 12) or another single composition.
Leonarda herself followed this practice: her op. XVI indeed contains 12 sonatas, eleven of which are for 2 violins, violone and basso continuo, while the twelfth piece is for solo violin and basso continuo.
Tracklist
Leonarda, Isabella
12 Sonatas, Op. 16: Sonata prima
1 - I. Allegro (0:52)
2 - II. Largo (3:03)
3 - III. Adagio (1:30)
4 - IV. Allegro (1:12)
5 - V. Soli violini (3:15)
6 - VI. Vivace (1:07)
12 Sonatas, Op. 16: Sonata seconda
7 - I. Largo (1:31)
8 - II. Spiritoso (0:47)
9 - III. Allegro (1:20)
10 - IV. Adagio - Allegro (1:37)
11 - V. Largo (3:16)
12 Sonatas, Op. 16: Sonata terza
12 - I. Adagio - Presto - Adagio (1:43)
13 - II. Largo (1:06)
14 - III. Presto (0:35)
15 - IV. Solo violone (0:49)
16 - V. Prestissimo (0:29)
17 - VI. Largo (0:53)
18 - VII. Presto - Adagio (1:10)
19 - VIII. Allegro (0:54)
12 Sonatas, Op. 16: Sonata quarta
20 - I. Presto - Adagio (1:32)
21 - II. Presto (1:39)
22 - III. Soli violini (1:42)
23 - IV. Allegro (1:29)
24 - V. Solo violone (1:04)
25 - VI. Prestissimo (0:25)
26 - VII. Adagio - Presto (0:44)
27 - VIII. Adagio (0:52)
12 Sonatas, Op. 16: Sonata quinta
28 - I. Adagio (0:35)
29 - II. Prestissimo (0:24)
30 - III. Adagio - Presto - Presto (1:10)
31 - IV. Adagio (0:54)
32 - V. Presto - Adagio (0:38)
33 - VI. Presto (0:18)
34 - VII. — (0:37)
12 Sonatas, Op. 16: Sonatas sesta
35 - I. — (0:50)
36 - II. — (1:19)
37 - III. — (0:39)
38 - IV. — (0:37)
12 Sonatas, Op. 16: Sonata settima
39 - I. — (0:45)
40 - II. Largo (1:21)
41 - III. Largo (1:10)
42 - IV. Solo violone (1:10)
43 - V. — (0:49)
44 - VI. — (1:13)
45 - VII. — (0:49)
12 Sonatas, Op. 16: Sonata ottava
46 - I. — (0:44)
47 - II. Solo violone (0:34)
48 - III. — (0:22)
49 - IV. Spiritoso (0:36)
50 - V. — (0:40)
51 - VI. — (1:00)
12 Sonatas, Op. 16: Sonata nona
52 - I. Presto (0:40)
53 - II. Largo (2:09)
54 - III. — (0:36)
55 - IV. Prestissimo (0:56)
12 Sonatas, Op. 16: Sonata decima
56 - I. Spiritoso - Presto (0:50)
57 - II. — (0:25)
58 - III. Adagio - Presto (0:42)
59 - IV. Presto (0:33)
60 - V. Adagio - Presto (0:46)
61 - VI. Presto (0:40)
12 Sonatas, Op. 16: Sonata undecima
62 - I. Allegro (2:55)
63 - II. Adagio (1:08)
64 - III. Allegro (1:15)
Sonata a 4 in D Minor, Op. 16, No. 12
65 - I. Adagio (1:54)
66 - II. Allegro e presto (1:07)
67 - III. Vivace e largo (2:03)
68 - IV. — (2:15)
69 - IV. Aria: Allegro (1:24)
70 - V. Veloce (1:06)
- Composer: LEONARDA ISABELLA
- Performers: Cappella Strumentale del Duomo di Novara – primo violino: Servio Bona, violino secondo: Igor Del Vecchio, violoncello: Claudia Poz, organo positivo: Alberto Sala.
- Historical Period: Early Baroque
- Code: TC 623701
- Edition: July 2004
- Barcode: 8007194103298
- Set: 1
- Total tracks: 70
- Total duration: 01:19:15