LAKEVILLE, Conn.—Crescendo will present “Revolutionary Renaissance,” the rarely performed works of two minority groups of the Renaissance era, Saturday, March 1, at 4 p.m. at Trinity Church at 484 Lime Rock Road.
A second performance is planned for Sunday, March 2, at 4 p.m. at Saint James Place, 352 Main St., Great Barrington, Mass.
The repertoire includes vocal and instrumental works by six female Italian composers, Isabella de’ Medici, Maddalena Casulana, Paola Massarenghi, Lucia Quinciani, Raffaella Aleotti and Claudia Francesca Rusca, and motets and a madrigal by the Afro-Portuguese Renaissance composer Vicente Lusitano.
Isabella de’ Medici, a noble woman from the powerful Medici family in Florence, Italy, and a talented singer and lutenist, is also a patron of the arts, hosting musical events and seeking out many female poets and singing groups for her performances.
Maddalena Casulana was the first woman in Western music history to publish her music and consider herself a professional composer.
Paola Massarenghi from Parma is credited with being the second woman ever to have a madrigal published during her lifetime.
Venetian Lucia Quinciani is the earliest known published female composer of monody.
Raffaella Aleotti was a nun. Her compositions were the first book of sacred music by a woman to appear in print and who not only performed but led an ensemble of 23 nuns.
Claudia Francesca Rusca wrote the first known preserved instrumental works by a woman.
The Portuguese composer Vicente Lusitano was the only published composer of African descent in 16th-century Europe. His highly elaborate vocal music has only become more widely available since 2022.
Crescendo Vocal Ensemble—composed of 25 singers, with soloists Jennifer Tyo and Sarah Fay, sopranos; Laura Evans, alto, and Igor Ferreira, tenor—will be accompanied by Christa Patton on harp and recorder, and Juan Mesa, on organ.
The ensemble is directed by Crescendo Founding Artistic Director Christine Gevert.
