Isabella Leonarda (1620-1704), born into a noble family, entered the Ursuline convent in the Piedmontese city of Novara at the age of 16. After her entry into the order, she spent the rest of her life there as a nun, later as music director and mother superior. She was apparently musically gifted from an early age, as the first of her published music collections dates from 1640, when she was only 20 years old.
Following the Brilliant Classics portrait of Isabella Leonarda's vocal output by Cappella Artemisia under the direction of Candace Smith (96626), the all-female ensemble Giardino di Delizie presents a set of 11 trio sonatas published in 1683 as Op 16 of the composer. Isabella dedicated them to the Virgin Mary with a devotional foreword: "If these works do not please the world, I am content if they please you, for you value the heart more than the intellect.
Isabella's music indeed pleased the rest of the world at the time: a French collector wrote: "All works of this famous and incomparable Isabella Leonarda are so beautiful, so charming, so brilliant and at the same time so skillful and wise ... that I greatly regret not owning them all".
Although the sonatas do not have the daring contrasts or rich harmonies of their contemporary Corelli, they nevertheless stand out above many other contemporary examples of the genre, not least because of the improvisatory freedom of their composition, especially in the slow movements. They are written for two violins, violone and organ continuo, making them trio sonatas in which the violone part dialogues equally with the violins.
Earlier albums by this exciting early music ensemble have always been well received by the international press. The performance sounds completely natural, full of spontaneity and energy. It is clear that the group really loves this music and is not just trying to learn it" (Lonati, 95590 theclassicreview.com). Giardino di Delizie... an energetic and imaginative approach to this beautiful music.... play with sensitivity and considerable musicality. (Colista, 96033, earlymusicreview.com). 'A garden full of delights, sensitively and beautifully performed, perfect for any lover of the Baroque.' (Gems of the Polish Baroque, 95955, MusicWeb International).
The only instrumental works by Isabella Leonarda are the twelve sonatas for 1, 2, 3 and 4 instruments that form part of Opus 16. No woman before Leonarda produced so much non-liturgical music, and she is the only woman of the 17th century who published sonatas for the church. The first eleven sonatas in this recording are written for two violins, violone and organ continuo, meaning that they are all trio sonatas in which the violone part dialogues equally with the violins. These excellent works show that Leonarda belongs to the group of 16th-century composers who made an important contribution to the development of the trio sonata, a genre later perfected by Arcangelo Corelli.
Ensemble Giardino di Delizie, founded in 2014 by violinist Ewa Anna Augustynowicz, is an all-female quartet of early music experts based in Rome but collaborating internationally, not only with each other but also with ensembles led by Christophe Coin, Enrico Onofri, Fabio Bondi and other greats in modern Baroque music. Their earlier recordings of music by Lonati (BC 95590), Colista (BC 96033) and Stradella (BC 96079) have been enthusiastically received by the international press.
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