Suor Isabella Leonarda (1620-1704)
Sonates en trio, op. 16

Ensemble Giardino di Delizie

Katarzyna Solecka, violon baroque
Valeria Brunelli, violoncelle baroque
Sofia Ferri, archiluth, théorbe, guitare baroque
Chiara Catani, clavecin, orgue
Ewa Anna Augustynowicz, violon baroque, direction

Soeur Isabella Leonarda (Novare, Piémont, 1620 – Novare, 1704), qui assuma pleinement jusqu'à sa mort sa charge de mère supérieure du couvent Sainte-Ursule de Novare, fut également, avec quelque 200 opus, la compositrice la plus prolifique de son temps. Outre des oeuvres vocales religieuses (motets, messes, psaumes), elle fut l'une des premières à publier des sonates pour 1, 2, 3 ou 4 instruments. La sonate en trio (deux instruments solistes avec basse continue) est une des formes les plus importantes de la musique de chambre baroque. C'est dans les années 1680 qu'elle atteint son apogée avec Corelli, et Isabella Leonarda a compté au nombre de ceux qui ont porté cette forme à sa perfection, en publiant en 1683 son opus 16 : Onze sonates pour deux violons, avec violoncelle et basse continue. Sonates « da chiesa », pour l'église : Donc, sans indication de mouvements de danses, celles-ci étant proscrites en ce lieu. Certains mouvements évoquent pourtant des sarabandes, des courantes ou des gigues. Dans ces sonates, les deux violons dialoguent sur un pied d'égalité. La forme en est très libre, la longueur des mouvements étant très variable, ainsi que leur nombre, de quatre à douze. L'alternance et le contraste entre mouvements lents et rapides en est une des caractéristiques. Charme, élégance, vivacité : L'Ensemble Giardino di Delizie excelle à mettre en valeur les incontestables qualités de cette musique. Un album d’écoute très agréable, d'une compositrice encore trop méconnue. (Marc Galand)

Born into a noble family, Isabella Leonarda (1620-1704) entered the Ursuline Convent in the Piedmontese city of Novara at the age of 16. Having taken holy orders she lived there for the rest of her life as a religious sister, later its director of music and Mother Superior. She evidently showed musical promise from an early age, as the first of her published collections of music dates from as early as 1640, when she was just 20 years old. Following the Brilliant Classics portrait of Isabella Leonarda’s vocal output from Cappella Artemisia directed by Candace Smith (96626), the all-female ensemble of Giardino di Delizie presents a set of 11 Trio Sonatas which was published in 1683 as the composer’s Op.16. Isabella dedicated it to the Virgin Mary with a devotional preface: ‘If these pieces do not please the World, I shall be content if You like them, because You appreciate the heart above the intellect.’ In fact, Isabella’s music greatly pleased the rest of the world at the time: according to one French collector, ‘All the works of this illustrious and incomparable Isabella Leonarda are so beautiful, so charming, so brilliant, and at the same time so knowledgeable and so wise ... that my great regret is not to have them all.’ While the Sonatas do not exhibit the bold contrasts or rich harmony of her contemporary Corelli, they nonetheless rise above many other contemporary examples of the genre, not least in the improvisatory freedom of their writing, especially in the slow movements. They are written for two violins, violone and organ continuo, which makes them all trio sonatas in which the the violins. violone parte dialogues on equal terms with the violins. Previous albums from this exciting early-music ensemble have all met with a warm critical response from the international press. ‘The performance sounds completely natural, full of spontaneity and bursting energy. It’s clear the group really likes this music and does not merely try and lecture it.’ (Lonati, 95590 theclassicreview.com). ‘Giardino di Delizie… take an energetic and imaginative approach to this fine music… playing with sensitivity and considerable musicality.’ (Colista, 96033, earlymusicreview.com). ‘A garden of delights, sensitively and beautifully performed, perfect for any lover of the Baroque.’ (Gems of the Polish Baroque, 95955, MusicWeb International).