Isabella Leonarda

Beethoven isn’t the only composer having a major anniversary year - Isabella Leonarda is as well! Don’t know who she was? Read more below and then check out this excellent video from Pacific MusicWorks! (It’s only available until the end of September)

Isabella Leonarda (6 September 1620 – 25 February 1704) was an Italian composer from Novara, Italy.[2] At the age of 16, she entered the Collegio di Sant'Orsola, an Ursuline convent, where she stayed for the remainder of her life. Leonarda is most renowned for the numerous compositions that she created during her time at the convent, making her one of the most productive woman composers of her time.

Anna Isabella Leonarda was born on 6 September, 1620, the daughter of Giannantonio Leonardi and his wife, Apollonia. The Leonardi were an old and prominent Novarese family whose members included important church and civic officials and knights palatine. Isabella's father, who held the title of count, was a doctor of laws.[3]

Isabella Leonarda (6 September 1620 - 25 February 1704) was an Italian composer from Novara, Italy. At the age of 16, she entered the Collegio di Sant'Orsola, an Ursuline convent, where she stayed for the remainder of her life.

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