Lucrezia Borgia's Daughter Musica Secreta & Celestial Sirens

• Anonymous: Musica quinque vocum (Attrib. to Leonora d'Este):
• 1 Tribulationes civitatum audivimus [from the Musica quinque vocum motteta materna lingua vocata] (attrib. to Leonora d'Este) 05:34
• 2 Suscipe verbum virgo Maria (from the Musica quinque vocum motteta materna lingua vocata) (attrib. to Leonora d'Este) 03:57
• 3 Haec dies (from the Musica quinque vocum motteta materna lingua vocata) (attrib. to Leonora d'Este) 05:53
• 4 Ego sum panis vitae (from the Musica quinque vocum motteta materna lingua vocata) (attrib. to Leonora d'Este) 05:45
• 5 O Salutaris hostia (from the Musica quinque vocum motteta materna lingua vocata) (attrib. to Leonora d'Este) 02:59
• 6 Veni sponsa Christi (from the Musica quinque vocum motteta materna lingua vocata) (attrib. to Leonora d'Este) 01:41
• 7 Salve sponsa Dei (from the Musica quinque vocum motteta materna lingua vocata) (attrib. to Leonora d'Este) 02:02
• 8 Hodie Simon petrus (from the Musica quinque vocum motteta materna lingua vocata) (attrib. to Leonora d'Este) 02:55
• 9 Ave sanctissima Maria (from the Musica quinque vocum motteta materna lingua vocata) (attrib. to Leonora d'Este) 02:54
• 10 Sicut lilium (from the Musica quinque vocum motteta materna lingua vocata) (attrib. to Leonora d'Este) 01:44
• 11 Angelus Domini descendit (from the Musica quinque vocum motteta materna lingua vocata) (attrib. to Leonora d'Este) 12:13
• 12 Musica quinque vocum (Attrib. to Leonora d'Este): 03:53
• 13 Angustie mihi sunt undique (from the Musica quinque vocum motteta materna lingua vocata) (attrib. to Leonora d'Este) 03:16
• 14 O beate Christi confessor (from the Musica quinque vocum motteta materna lingua vocata) (attrib. to Leonora d'Este) 03:45
• 15 Iste est Johannes (from the Musica quinque vocum motteta materna lingua vocata) (attrib. to Leonora d'Este) 07:40
• 16 Angeli, Archangeli, Troni (from the Musica quinque vocum motteta materna lingua vocata) (attrib. to Leonora d'Este) 05:38
• Total Runtime 01:11:49

Info for Lucrezia Borgia's Daughter

Suor Leonora d’Este (1515–1575), Lucrezia Borgia’s daughter, was a princess, a nun, and a musician. She left little to illuminate her history, but an obscure book of motets may at least help us understand her musical life: the Musica quinque vocum motteta materna lingua vocata, published in Venice in 1543. The book is anonymous, but it contains clues to its origins that lead us to the door of Leonora d’Este’s home, the convent of Corpus Domini in Ferrara, perhaps even suggesting that she was its unidentified composer.

This music is the earliest published polyphony for nuns. This recording by Musica Secreta and Celestial Sirens allows it to be heard for the first time through carefully researched performances.

„Fascinating historical contexts for musical works are no guarantee of great performances or even of musical quality, but this recording took my breath away with its sheer depth of music making combined with such an exciting historical premise.

As Laurie Stras explains in her engagingly written liner notes, the CD explores an anonymous book of motets published in Venice in 1543: the Musica quinque vocum motteta materna lingua vocata. While the works in this book are anonymous, there are several factors that lead us to associate them with the convent of Corpus Domini in Ferrara. This convent was the home of Suor Leonora d’Este (1515-1575), who announced her intention to become a nun aged eight and may have been the composer of this book of motets.

Either way, the disc sets out to recreate the sound world of the sixteenth-century Italian convent, using the vocal forces of Musica Secreta (6 sopranos, 2 mezzo-sopranos, and 2 altos) and the Celestial Sirens (9 sopranos and 6 altos) alongside Claire Williams on organ and Alison Kinder on bass viol.

While one might think that the sound of a choir made up of only upper voices would be predictable, I found myself marveling at the wealth of contrast in textures and colours. Somehow, not a single voice seems to stray from the flawless blend of matching timbre and good intonation, constantly delighting a listener with hidden melodic shapes thrown into relief by the similar ranges, while the viol and organ magically take on vocal qualities while maintaining their own instrumental identities to seamlessly support and uplift the choir.

Throughout the recording, I get the keen impression that all the musicians are alive to every nuance of the lines they sing and play, unafraid to enjoy each dissonance, glorify every unusual sequence, and characterise every single piece. In the week since I started listening to the CD, my discovery of new musical moments and corners that make me smile and restart the track have been unending: this is one of those discs that only improves on an already very favourable acquaintance. On Musica Secreta’s website I found a clip of one of my favourite pieces on the CD: Haec Dies Quam Fecit Dominus which seems to illustrate well not only the thrill of this music but the infectious enjoyment with which it is conveyed.

While this music needs no advocacy, Stras and Musica Secreta are so musically and academically articulate that the end result is irresistible.“ (Fatima Lahham)

Musica Secreta

Celestial Sirens

Laurie Stras, harpsichord
Deborah Roberts, conductor, soprano

Musica Secreta
For over twenty-five years, Musica Secreta has been at the forefront of the discovery and interpretation of music for and by early modern women. We bring together internationally-acclaimed musicians and ground-breaking research to perform this fascinating and continually emerging repertoire. Our programmes illustrate the many faces of women musicians in the 16th and 17th centuries: courtiers, courtesans, actresses and cloistered nuns. There is always an element of story-telling and surprise in our performances, for the women who first made our music had lives as compelling as the music itself.

Celestial Sirens
Celestial Sirens is a select non-professional choir of female singers based in Southern England. The group was formed in 2003 by Deborah Roberts, and has maintained a strong reputation as the country’s foremost ensemble committed to the performance of choral works in the style of early modern convents.

Deborah Roberts
Deborah Roberts has been at the forefront of British early music performance for over three decades, as a soprano in over a thousand concerts with the Tallis Scholars and, for the last fifteen years, as a co-director of the Brighton Early Music Festival. She is also a distinguished teacher and coach, and now runs her own summer workshops, Triora Musica.

Laurie Stras
Laurie Stras is a Professor of Music at the University of Southampton, where she teaches courses on both sixteenth-century polyphony and twentieth-century girl groups; her book on the musical women of sixteenth-century Ferrara is forthcoming with Cambridge University Press.

Booklet for Lucrezia Borgia's Daughter