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ABOUT US
Cappella Clausura promotes the performance of music by composers who have historically been excluded from the canon because of their gender. Our repertoire ranges from the ancient cloister to the baroque salon and the modern concert hall, encompassing an increasingly diverse group of women, trans and non-binary composers.
What’s In a Name?
Cappella Clausura’s name was inspired by the many female composers imprisoned in the cloisters (“in clausura”) of 17th century Italy. During this period, roughly 56% of patrician daughters disappeared into convents. Our name continues to serve as a metaphor for the cultural obstacles faced by women composers throughout history, and still in the present day.
Photo: Sam Brewer
Photo: Sam Brewer
Cappella Clausura Today
Over the past twenty years, Cappella Clausura has performed an ever-widening repertoire for enthusiastic audiences in concert halls and churches, as well as academic and virtual settings. Our concerts have included music by Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Contemporary composers. We have also been privileged to have had compositions written especially for us by a growing number of living composers. Click here to view a complete list of our repertoire.
In addition to releasing our own recordings, Cappella Clausura is a Parma artist, with two recordings now available on the Navona label: our 2016 recording of Hilary Tann's brilliant “Exultet Terra” and Patricia Van Ness's luminous “Birds of the Psalms”, released November 2017.
Our Artists
The core of our ensemble is eight-to-sixteen singers who perform a cappella, as well as with instruments appropriate to the repertoire. Both our singers and players are drawn from Boston’s superb pool of freelancers; they are accomplished professionals who perform widely as soloists and ensemble musicians in Greater Boston and beyond.
Photo: Eric Antoniou