In earlier centuries women who composed were either of noble birth or the daughters of musicians

This recital given by April Cantelo (soprano) and Charles Spinks (harpsichord and piano) consists of songs and harpsichord pieces by women composers of the 17th and 18th centuries: Francesca Caccini and Barbara Strozzi (of the Florentine and Venetian courts respectively); Elizabeth Jacquet de la Guerre (a contemporary of Rameau); and the German Princess Anna Amalia (who among other things set Goethe's singspiel 'Erwin und Elmire')