Composers in countercurrent.
I wish to show the world, as much as possible in this musical profession,
the mistaken idea that only men possess the gifts of art and intellect,
and that these gifts are never granted to women.
Maddalena Casulana
In the sixteenth century, the printing press was not accessible to circles far removed from royalty, nor was it seen as a necessity. Perhaps, in many cases, it was not even known to exist. Music was a daily event, a profession, and was used to accompany liturgical chants, often played on small portable organs or realejos. Small organs that, even so, powerfully conveyed the greatness of faith or musically accompanied royal journeys through Europe, as Antonio de Cabezón did with Philip II of Spain. It was during these visits that Spanish musicians had the opportunity to discover the works of the great Flemish polyphonists and to leave us their own instrumental versions. This was the case in the sixteenth century for Cabezón and masters of other instruments, such as vihuelist Luys de Narváez; as well as for a poet, singer, and unknown organist, the daughter of an officer in France: Clementine de Bourges (c. 1530–1561). Da bei rami scendea is an intabulation of a madrigal by the Franco-Flemish composer Jacques Arcadelt. However, beyond arrangements, a woman of the Renaissance astonished the world with her own creations: Maddalena Casulana (c. 1544–1590) published Il primo libro di madrigali in Venice in 1568, which is the first musical work ever published by a woman. Several others emerged after her, and her art was recognised and praised by her contemporaries. The two female names accompanying us on our brief journey through the seventeenth century represent the development of instrumental music per se, detached from liturgical or vocal accompaniment: it was no coincidence that Leonora Duarte (1610–1678) called her collection of pieces for five viols “abstract symphonies”. In the heart of Antwerp, the Duarte household – Jewish merchants of Portuguese origin – was a center of musical activity and a meeting point for European musical styles. Constantijn Huygens was a frequent visitor, and although Leonora was a talented amateur, she may have been tutored by John Bull. Only ten years younger, Isabella Leonarda (1620-1704) lived a very different life: born in Novara and consecrated as a nun in 1639, her position in the church allowed her to develop her talent in an environment that would otherwise have been restrictive for a woman. She composed over two hundred works (motets, sonatas, masses, and other religious hymns) which were published in numerous collections, among them the Sonata da chiesa, Op. 16 (1693), demonstrating her boundless imagination and instrumental mastery. Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre (1665-1729) could not help but dedicate her life to music. Going against the current, she defied all the conventions of her time – following a musical career outside of domestic work was something exceptional for a woman. Through two centuries, she grew up in a family of organists, harpsichordists, and instrument makers… and began singing at the court of Louis XIV of France at the age of five! Nevertheless, her marriage to Marin de la Guerre prevented her from holding any official post at court. Her music, utterly personal and original, revealed her quest for modernity – she opposed traditionalists – and was premiered at the Académie Royale de Musique and in the royal apartments. She became the first woman to write an opera-ballet, Céphale et Procris, and published string sonatas, harpsichord pieces, and two collections of cantatas whose instrumental interludes will carry us from the storm to the dream, from birdsong to lethargy...
— Silvia Márquez —
22 October
Igreja do Convento de Santa Clara do Funchal
Wednesday 9.30 pm
La Tempestad
Lorea Aranzasti, baroque violin
Antonio Clares, baroque viola
Guillermo Turina, baroque cello
Silvia Márquez, organ and direction
Clémence de Bourges (c.1530-c.1562)
¬ Da bei rami scenes (from a madrigal by Jacques Arcadelt)
Maddalena Casulana Mezari (c.1544-1590)
¬ Morir non può il mio cuore (Il desiderio, Libro primo, 1566)
¬ Vagh’ amorosi augelli (Il secondo libro de madrigali a qvattro voci, 1570)
Leonora Duarte (1610-1678)
¬ Sinfonia 3 à 5. Primi toni (Oxford. Christ College, Mus. Ms. 429)
Isabella Leonarda (1620-1704)
¬ Sonata quinta (Sonate a 1. 2. 3. e 4 Istromenti, Op. 16, Bologna 1693)
› Adagio
› Prestissimo
› Adagio
› Presto
› [Presto] 3/2
› Adagio
› Presto
› Adagio
› Presto
› [Presto] 3/2
Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre (1665-1729)
¬ Sonata n.º 1 em sol menor in G minor (4 Sonates à 3 parties, c. 1695)
› Grave
› Presto
› Adagio
› Presto
› Adagio
› Presto
› Aria affettuoso
› Allegro
Elisabetta de Gambarini (1731-1765)
¬ Sonata n.º 2 in D major (Six Sets of Lesson for the Harpsichord, Op. 1, 1748)
› Grazioso
› Allegro moderato
Anna Amalia von Preussen (1723-1787)
¬ Duetto (fuga) for violin and viola
Mariana Martínez (1732-1809)
¬ Symphony in C major (1770) (arrangement: S. Márquez, A. Clares)
› Allegro con spirito
› Andante ma non troppo
› Allegro spiritoso
Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre
¬ Suite (from Cantates françaises and Le sommeil d’Ulisse)
› Symphonie
› Sommeil
› Muzette
› Simphonie de rossignol
› Tempête
