Convents, communities of nuns or religious sisters, were among Early Modern Europe’s most musical spaces, and one of the few in which women could pursue higher education in a variety of fields including music. This hour, we’re celebrating these under-sung cultural powerhouses with music written by and for nuns and other religious repertory performed by women over the centuries.
Musicologist Laurie Stras spent a decade studying and reconstructing the contents of the Biffoli-Sostegni Manuscript, a unique musical survival from the convent of San Matteo in Arcetri, just outside Florence. In 2025, Stras and ensemble Musica Secreta, an all-female ensemble devoted to women’s music in sixteenth century Italy. The ensemble released an album devoted to the sound world of these Clarissan Sisters, who in the sixteenth century “sang their community through siege, plague, and deprivation.” We’ll hear recreations of convent music-making from medieval Germany, Spain, and the Eastern Roman Empire.
We’ll close with a special tribute to longtime Boston Camerata director and historical performance pioneer Joel Cohen.
PLAYLIST
Invisible from a Secluded Place: Chants of Cistercian Nuns
Per-Sonat, Sabine Lutzenberger
Christophorus | CHR77430 (2018)
Anonymous
Tr. 10 In hoc ortus occidente (4:37)
Segment A:
Ricordanze: A Record of Love
Musica Secreta, Laurie Stras
LCKY005|2025
Anonymous
Tr. 20 Messa sopra Recordare Virgo Mater: Kyrie (3:28)
Tr. 3 Je le lerray puisqu'il me bat (2:02)
Tr. 5 Messa sopra Je le lerray: Gloria (3:30)
Lucrezia Borgia’s Daughter
Musica Secreta, Celestial Sirens
Obsidian | OBSID-CD717 (2017)
Attr. Suor Leonora d’Este
Tr. 16 Angeli, Arcangeli, Troni (5:26)
Invisible from a Secluded Place: Chants of Cistercian Nuns
Per-Sonat, Sabine Lutzenberger
Christophorus | CHR77430 (2018)
Anonymous
Tr. 12 Alleluia: O scintillans sidus celi (3:05)
Tr. 3 O Maria Virgo Davitia / O Maria Maris Stella / In veritate (1:08)
Midpoint Break Music Bed:
Per la viola bastarda
Manon Papasergio
Ricercar | RIC480 (2025)
Manon Papasergio (Improvisation)
Tr. 18 Partite sopra La Monica
Segment B:
Hymns of Kassiani
Cappella Romana, Alexander Lingas
Cappella Records | CR422 (2021)
Kassiani
Tr. 7 Idiomelon from Matins (arr. I. Arvanitis) (3:02)
Alessandro Grandi, Motetti a cinque voci (1614)
Musica Secreta
Divine Art | DDA25062 (2007)
Alessandro Grandi
Tr. 12 Quo rubiconda rosa, arr. Laurie Stras (3:28)
Lucrezia Vizzana
Musica Secreta, Catherine King
Linn Records | CKD071 (1998)
Lucrezia Vizzana
Tr. 3 Paratum cor meum (2:12)
Dialogues with Heaven
Musica Secreta
Linn Records | CKD113 (2001)
Chiara Margherita Cozzolani
Tr. 9 Tu dulcis, O bone Jesu (6:01)
Joel Cohen Segment:
A Medieval Christmas
The Boston Camerata
Elektra/Nonesuch
Anonymous
Tr. 2 Conductus: Adest Sponsus (1:33)
Free America!
The Boston Camerata (Anne Azema, director)
Harmonia Mundi (2019)
William Billings
Tr. 5 “Chester” (Let Tyrants Shake Their Iron Rod) (2:30)
Tristan and Iseult
The Boston Camerata (Joel Cohen, director)
Erato 98482 (also re-released several years later)
Tr. 22: Lai mortel: “Ja fis chanchonettes et lais” (3:14)
Theme Music Bed: Ensemble Alcatraz, Danse Royale, Elektra Nonesuch 79240-2 [ASIN: B000005J0B], T.12: La Prime Estampie Royal