Novara in Italy, September 6, 1620: the composer and nun Isabella Leonarda is born. At the age of sixteen (1636), she entered the Collegio di Sant’Orsola convent, where she lived for the rest of her life – as a prolific composer.
A significant proportion of northern Italian music of the 16th and 17th centuries was written by female composers. One of the most productive of these was the noblewoman Isabella Leonarda. She left behind around 200 compositions. The 20 volumes contain mainly sacred music, such as motets for soloists and continuo and also a mass for soloists, choir, strings and continuo.
Opus 16 is her only purely instrumental work. It consists of 12 church sonatas. These compositions were performed as part of the Catholic mass. It is one of the first instrumental compositions published by a woman. They have been published by Furore Verlag:
Sonata No. 1 for 2 violins and b.c.
and Sonata No. 12 for violin and b.c.