“We love to tell stories,” says artistic director Mario Aschauer. In a concert at Houston's Rienzi last season we traced the travels of Margaret of Austria on her way to become Queen of Spain. In Italy, Margaret and her mother liked to spend the night at convents, where they also attended musical performances composed and performed by nuns.

Our program on October 13 explores the world of 17th-century female composers in Italian convents. The Motetti spirituali, sacred music for up to twelve voices, by sister Sulpitia Cesis (1577–c1619) of Modena, is one of the most impressive collections.

Baroque Jazz

It was around the same time, around 1600, that instrumental music as a genre was on the rise. The early virtuosos on violin and cornetto played from sheet music that was originally composed for voices—such as Sulpitia Cesis’ motetti—but added their own ornamentation and virtuosity, similar to jazz musicians today.

Inspired by this practice of “Baroque jazz,” our performers Elissa Edwards, Manami Mizumoto, Will Copeland, and Mario Aschauer are presenting a program of highlights from the works of female composers in 17th-century Italy.