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Classical Music Agency 33 W 60TH Street, Lib1-8 New York, NY 10023 Tel: +1-917-572-6859 DCA License #: 0897404 AGAVE BAROQUE REGINALD MOBLEY, countertenor Queen of Heaven Music of Isabella Leonarda in Honor of the Virgin Mary Although the Roman Catholic establishment did not accept the Divine Feminine as orthodoxy, within the walls of many convents in 17th century Italy, nuns ascribed to the Blessed Virgin Mary her own trinity, venerating her as Maiden, Mother, and Queen of Heaven. They also cultivated an unorthodox tradition of making music at a time when women typically had neither the education nor the freedom to write and perform music at a professional level. Anna Isabella Leonarda was born to a wealthy family who opted to send their daughter to spend her life as a nun rather than having to pay a hefty marriage dowry. Leonarda entered the Collegio di Sant’Orsola at sixteen, where she received a solid musical education and lived a fairly privileged life within her order, rising to be- come Mother Superior in her sixties, and dying a local celebrity at the age of 84. Leonarda published 20 volumes of music over a sixty year career––a worthy accomplishment for any 17th century com- poser, let alone a woman in an age of repression. Leonarda was an accomplished poet, and most probably wrote the texts to the three motets on this album. Her poetry is intimate, deeply personal, and speaks to the central place the Virgin Mary held in the worship life of the Ursuline sisters. Leonarda’s collection of instrumental music, published in 1693, includes the earliest known sonata for solo violin and basso continuo written by a female composer. Her style is at once forward-looking and grounded in the forms of the earlier 17th cen- tury. The result is music with a unique voice, vivacious, witty, and full of deep, abiding faith. Agave recorded this program on the VGo Recordings label in 2015 Updated 10–20 Email: [email protected] www.schwalbeandpartners.com Classical Music Agency 33 W 60TH Street, Lib1-8 New York, NY 10023 Tel: +1-917-572-6859 DCA License #: 0897404 “Dramatic tension… courtly elegance and supple vocal articulation… and lively lyricism… underline the music’s expressiveness and appeal.” ––American Record Guide PROGRAM All Works by Isabella Leonarda (1620-1704) Sonata Quarta, Op. 16 no. 4 (1693) Quam dulcis es, Op. 13 no. 2 (1687) Sonata Duodecima, Op. 16, no. 12 (1693) Venite, laetantes, Op. 20 no. 12 (1700) Sonata Prima, Op. 16 no. 1 (1693) O Maria, quam dulcis, quam cara, Op. 20 no. 8 (1700) Agave Baroque Reginald Mobley, countertenor Aaron Westman, baroque violin Anna Washburn, baroque violin William Skeen, baroque violoncello Kevin Cooper, theorbo Henry Lebedinsky, organ Approximate running time 1hr 45 min Repertoire and personnel subject to change Updated 10–20 Email: [email protected] www.schwalbeandpartners.com .

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