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Dialogues - Opera In The Convent
	This sung dialogue arises full of drama, suspense, narrative, and emotion. The program includes excerpts from Hildegard von Bingen's medieval opera, "Ordo Virtutem" several pieces by Chiara Margarita Cozzolani, and by Isabella Leonarda, all of which reveal imaginative and theatrical minds, as well as immense skill in writing for ensembles limited by church rule. As a tip of the hat to women composing today, Cappella Clausura performs "A Creation Tale" by Sinta Wullur, an Indonesian composer living in the Netherlands, whose pieces harken back to her native Gamelan orchestral sounds. The final work is another by one of our favorite composers, Hilary Tann, whose "Contemplations" is based on the poetry of Anne Bradstreet, America's first female poet.
Title   Composer   Sample   O mi Domine   Chiara Margarita Cozzolani  Listen  O caeli cives   Chiara Margarita Cozzolani  Listen  Psallite superi   Chiara Margarita Cozzolani  Listen  O felice anima   Hildegard Von Bingen  Listen  Creation Tale   Sinta Wullur  Listen  Ave mater dilectissima   Chiara Margarita Cozzolani  Listen  O virtus sapientiae   Hildegard Von Bingen  Listen  Contemplations   Hillary Tann  Listen
La Donna/La Dame
	Music of Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, Raffaella Aeotti. From Hildegard on precious virginity, to a 15th century Austria with a motet by Princess Margaret, to motets on the love of Jesus from the Italian seicento by Suors Rafaella Aleotti, Sulpitia Cesis, and Margarita Cozzolani.
Title   Composer   Sample   O dulcis amor Jesu   Caterina Assandra  Listen  O quam bonum   Chiara Margarita Cozzolani  Listen  Baciai per haver vita   Vittoria Aleotti  Listen  Ecce iterum   Margaret of Austria  Listen  Se je souspire   Margaret of Austria  Listen  Aux vains attraits   Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre  Listen  A quelle affreuses image   Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre  Listen  Indiscrete jeunesse   Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre  Listen  Le coup est acheve   Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre  Listen
Leonarda Strozzi & Barbara Strozzi - Girls In A Man's World
	Music rarely if ever heard by two maestras of virtuosic composition for violins and voices. Sample the beauty and intricacy of Barbara Strozzi's vocal writing, and the imagination and daring of Isabella Leonarda's writing for violin. Contrast these unknown masterpieces with the works of three maestri: the great "Stabat Mater" of Pergolesi and some rarely heard villancicos from the Peruvian Baroque.
Title   Composer   Sample   Cara, cara fili   Barbara Strozzi  Listen  Lusinghiera   Barbara Strozzi  Listen  Magnificat   Isabella Leonarda  Listen  Los coflades   Juan de Arajo  Listen
Sulpitia Cesis and Her Consuors
	Explore with us the motet in all its forms, as the Italian seicento heard it, with motets by Cesis and others. Includes pieces by Hildegard von Bingen and contemporary composer Hilary Tann's luminous piece for two voices, "The Moor", based on the poetry and hymns of her Welsh heritage.
Title   Composer   Sample   Stabat Mater   Sulpitia Cesis  Listen  Ave Regina   Isabella Leonarda  Listen  Ardete celeste   Rosa Maria Bianca  Listen  O Deus   Hildegard Von Bingen  Listen  The Moor   Hillary Tann  Listen
The Complete Vespers Of Cozzolani
	Cozzolani's luminous setting of the psalms and canticles for Christmas Eve Vespers, together with Emma Lou Diemer's jaunty setting of five poems by Emily Dickinson - another "cloistered" woman.
Title   Composer   Sample   Hope is the thing   Emma Lou Diemer  Listen  My life closed twice   Emma Lou Diemer  Listen  If you were coming in the fall   Emma Lou Diemer  Listen  Dixit dominus   Chiara Margarita Cozzolani  Listen  Confitebor tibi   Chiara Margarita Cozzolani  Listen  Magnificat   Chiara Margarita Cozzolani  Listen