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This week's show presents music by nuns, courtesans, and a few professional musicians who just happened to be women! We'll hear works by Hildegard of Bingen, Francesca Caccini, and Isabella Leonarda. Also included are selections from the Codex Las Huelgas, which contains polyphony believed to have been sung by nuns, despite strict rules forbidding the practice. We'll hear performances by Anonymous 4, Maria Cristina Kiehr, and Concerto Soave. 

  • Isabella Leonarda: Sonata VII. Performed by Concerto Soave.
  • Hildegard of Bingen: Columba aspexit. Performed by Sequentia.
  • Hildegard of Bingen: Instrumental Piece. Performed by Sequentia.
  • Francesca Caccini: Ciaccona. Performed by Capella de Santa Maria degli Angiolini.
  • Francesca Caccini: Ave Maris Stella. Performed by Concerto Soave & Maria Cristina Kiehr.
  • Francesca Caccini: Io mio distruggo. Performed by Jean-Marc Aymes, harpsichord.
  • Barbara Strozzi: Anima del mio core and Amor, Amor. Performed by La Venexiana.
  • Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre: Courant and Double. Performed by Ludger Remy.
  • Anon.: Selections from the Las Huelgas Codex. Performed by Anonymous 4.
  • Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre: Trio Sonata in D. Performed by Camerata moderna.
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