Performer: Musica Secreta, Celestial Sirens
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Obsidian Records
Catalogue: CD717
Release: 2017
Size: 1.16 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Musica quinque vocum (Attrib. to Leonora d’Este)
01. No. 1, Tribulationes civitatum audivimus
02. No. 2, Suscipe verbum Virgo Maria
03. No. 3, Haec dies
04. No. 4, Ego sum panis vitae
05. No. 5, O salutaris hostia
06. No. 6, Veni sponsa Christi
07. No. 7, Salve sponsa Dei
08. No. 8, Hodie Simon Petrus
09. No. 9, Ave sanctissima Maria
10. No. 10, Sicut lilium
11. No. 11, Angelus Domini descendit
12. No. 12, Felix namque es sacra
13. No. 13, Angustie mihi sunt undique
14. No. 14, O beate Christi confessor
15. No. 15, Iste est Johannes
16. No. 16, Angeli, archangeli, troni
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.