Leonarda: Twelve Sonatas, Op. 16

The present edition comprises the instrumental works of Isabella Leonard (1620–1703), an Ursuline nun who spent her entire adult life in a convent, the Collegio di S. Orsola, in Novara, Italy. A very prolific composer, Leonarda published nearly two hundred compositions during her long life. Most of these are sacred vocal works, but in 1693 she published her Sonate à 1.2.3. e 4. Istromenti, a collection comprising twelve sonatas, eleven for two violins, violone, and continuo, and one solo sonata for violin and continuo. These are the first sonatas published by a woman.

Peter Holman, Early Music, May 2003