This week Donald Macleod explores the life and music of Barbara Strozzi. She was one of the most important composers of Italian cantatas in the seventeenth century and, probably, also a Venetian courtesan. Strozzi published eight collections of vocal works during her lifetime containing over one hundred works in total, and her music travelled as far as Austria, Germany and England. Dr Sara Pecknold joins Donald Macleod to help lift the veil on this elusive composer.

By the late 1650s, there are reports of many musical activities taking place at the home of Barbara Strozzi. She was still publishing collections of music, which she dedicated to nobles and powerful people. Strozzi was seeking a patron, which she never achieved. During her final years she was keen to secure a better future for her children, and one of them became a nun, and another a monk. Strozzi's last publication was in 1664, but we know that she didn't stop composing at this point. In 1677 she travelled to Padua where she died at the age of 58.

Parasti in dulcedine, Op 5 No 8
Maria Cristina Kiehr, soprano
Concerto Soave

Lilla crudele: Lilla mia, non ti doler, Op 6 No 9
Dorothée Leclair, soprano
Yasunori Imamura, theorbo
Lea Rachel Bader, baroque cello
Jory Vinikour, harpsichord

Lamento: Lagrime mie, a che vi trattenete?, Op 7 No 4
Susanne Rydén, soprano
Musica Fiorita

L'astratto, Op 8 No 4
Judith Nelson, soprano
William Christie, harpsichord
Christophe Coin, baroque cello
John Hutchinson, harp

Salve sancta caro, Op 5 No 4
Maria Cristina Kiehr, soprano
Concerto Soave

Donna non sa che dice, Op 3 No 7
Christine Brandes, soprano
Kurt-Owen Richards, bass
New York Baroque
Eric Milnes, director

Desideri vani, Op 3 No 11
Christine Brandes, soprano
Jennifer Lane, mezzo-soprano
Kurt-Owen Richards, bass
New York Baroque
Eric Milnes, director

Producer Luke Whitlock. Show less