In 1524, Gian Giorgio Trissino published I Ritratti: a collection of word portraits of women he considered to be paragons of intellect and virtue, but which focused above all on their physical beauty.
Adopting Trissino’s title but shedding his qualifiers, Musica Antica Rotherhithe present portraits of three 17th Century female Italian composers – Isabella Leonarda, Antonia Bembo and Barbara Strozzi – through their incredible music, alongside extracts from the operas of Strozzi and Bembo’s teacher, Francesco Cavalli.
This concert has been generously supported by the Continuo Foundation.
Programme
Francesco Cavalli: Mia speranza from Elena
Antonia Bembo: Sonetto al Rè: Gran Re che tutto a tutti
Isabella Leonarda: Sonata Quinta
Barbara Strozzi: L’Eraclito Amoroso
Isabella Leonarda: Sonata Terza
Francesco Cavalli: Ecco idolo mio from Elena
Antonia Bembo: Volgete altrove il guardo
Barbara Strozzi: Lagrime mie
Isabella Leonarda: Sonata Duodecima
Barbara Strozzi: Il Lamento: Sul Rodano severo
Antonia Bembo: Ah, quel’absence
Francesco Cavalli: D’amor non si Quereli from Ormindo
Musica Antica Rotherhithe
Camilla Seale mezzo soprano
Tristram Cooke countertenor
Flora Fontanelli violin
Maxim del Mar violin
Harry Buckoke viola da gamba
Oliver Doyle harpsichord
Jonatan Bougt theorbo
This is a candlelit performance