Ricordanze – a record of love
Musica Secreta/Laurie Stras
rec. 2024, Beaulieu Abbey Church & St Andrew’s, Yetminster, UK
Texts and translations included
Reviewed as a download
Lucky Music LCKY005 [102]

“Mulier tacet in ecclesia” – a woman shall remain silent in church. This verdict by the apostle St Paul was the rule in Christian churches in Europe for many centuries. The apostle meant that women should not exert authority in church but in the course of history it was extended to a general prohibition of music-making by women in liturgy. As a result, liturgical music was sung by boys and men until well into the 18th century. However, there were exceptions. We know the names of several female composers from early 17th-century Italy, who were nuns in one of the many women’s convents. They composed music to be sung in their own convent, but sometimes their works were also published. Few female composers from earlier times are known; the most famous of them is Hildegard of Bingen. It seems likely that there were others.

The set of discs under review documents music practice in a women’s convent during the 16th century (although the music may well have still been sung in later times). The convent in question is San Matteo in Arcetri, today a location in Florence, positioned among the hills south of the city centre. Life in the convent was dominated by the Divine Office: eight services (‘hours’) that divided the day. In many convents and churches, (monophonic) chant was the centre of musical practice, but in addition polyphony was sung. A large repertoire of such music – masses, psalms, motets, antiphons etc – is known, written by the main composers of the time, especially from the so-called ‘Franco-Flemish school’. Such music was undoubtedly sung in convents, but they also had their own repertoire. Much of that may have been specifically intended for use in convents, or even one particular convent. Large parts of that repertoire have been lost, due to natural disasters or the dissolution of convents. The years around 1800 – the time of the French Revolution and the secularization of many convents – have been especially damaging. It is a matter of good luck, if a collection of music sung in a convent has been preserved.

The collection from which the music in this recording has been taken, is known as the Biffoli-Sostegni manuscript, and is preserved at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels, although partly damaged. The name is derived from the dedications embossed on its covers: ‘Sorori Angiolette de Biffolis’ and ‘Sorori Clementie de Sostegnis’ – ‘to Sister Agnoleta Biffoli’ and ‘to Sister Clemenzia Sostegni.’ The manuscript, dating from 1560, was put together by Fra Antonius Morus, a monk from Florence. It could only be connected to the convent of San Matteo through an account book – Ricordanze – from the early years of the convent (hence the title of this production).

The two sisters to whom the manuscript is dedicated, entered the convent in the 1540s, which was a difficult time, after years of war, plague and political unrest. At the time the manuscript was created, things had greatly improved. This may well explain the number of pieces in the manuscript – 78 in total – and the variety and quality of the music.

“The music reflects the convent’s Franciscan rule and its Florentine heritage; but individual works also chart the events, feasts, and traditions that affected the lives of the nuns of San Matteo. None of the music on the album has a named composer, but much of it appears to have been written for nuns, perhaps even expressly for San Matteo”, writes Laurie Stras in her liner-notes. As mentioned above, we know several nuns from 17th-century Italy who composed music for their own convent. The liner-notes don’t speculate about who may have written the anonymous pieces, but it seems a realistic possibility that nuns have written at least some of them.

The programme exposes some of the main elements of the liturgy in the convent. It includes two masses. The Messa sopra Je le lerray is an example of a parody mass, based on a secular work, in this case a madrigal, apparently anonymous as well. The text says: “I shall leave him, because he beats me, ah God, alas. And the dirty and bad-tempered villain has made up a story about me, that I was gone out to have fun. I shall leave him, because he beats me, ah God, alas.” Given the tenor of this text, Laurie Stras thinks it may be connected to the siege of Florence in the late 1520s, when the nuns were evacuated into the city. The Messa sopra Recordare Virgo Mater is based on the Offertory for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, which was sung each year on 16 March and was one of the most important celebrations in the convent.

The Vespers have always been a very important part of the church’s liturgy. Numerous settings of Vesper psalms and the Magnificat have been written in the course of history. From that perspective it does not surprise that these texts are also represented in the Biffoli-Sostegni manuscript and are included here. They are divided into verses, and this explains why they often have an alternatim structure: the verses are alternately sung in chant and polyphony. The settings here are not very elaborate, and include verses that are homophonic. In comparison the Magnificat is of a somewhat different level.

Other pieces are connected to specific stages in the ecclesiastical calendar, such as Adoramus te, Christe for Good Friday, and In illo tempore: vidit Jesus for the Feast of St Matthew, the convent’s patron, on 21 September. Obviously some works reflect the veneration of Mary: Sancta Maria, letaniae della Madonna, Sancta Dei genitrix, and Ave regina coelorum.

That leaves the secular pieces. It is often thought that the residents of a convent only sang sacred music. However, music was also part of their entertainment. In the early 17th century Aquilino Coppini took madrigals by Monteverdi and replaced their lyrics by spiritual texts, which allowed monks to enjoy them without being offended by their often amorous texts. In the 16th century the genre of the spiritual madrigal was very popular: it had the character of a madrigal, but then with a text of a spiritual or moral tenor. The three madrigals included here are of that genre. Non è alcun di gloria degno is about the state of virginity, obviously referring to Mary, as is Vergine bella che di sol vestita: “Lovely Virgin, clothed with the sun, crowned with stars, you so pleased the high Sun that he hid his own light in you.” Giesù benign’ et pio is about the eucharist, and compares the last supper with manna from heaven: “Come, come and taste, how sweet the fruit that God sends us is (…)”.

Musica Secreta is one of the few ensembles in the field of early music devoting itself entirely to the music written by and for women from the 15th to 17th centuries. Much of that repertoire is only available through extensive research, which is the work of Laurie Stras, Emeritus Professor of Music at the University of Southampton (UK). Musica Secreta’s previous disc was devoted to music by Antoine Brumel (review), which has been preserved in a copy by the same Fra Antonius Morus, who put together the Biffoli-Sostegni manuscript. The present recording is a logical further step in the exploration of the music that was sung in a women’s convent, maybe even the same.

Together they offer a fascinating insight into liturgical practices in the Renaissance. Women may have remained silent in churches and most chapels, they certainly were not in their own convents, which offered them opportunities they did not have in the ‘outside world’. Therefore, projects like those by Musica Secreta are not only interesting and important from a musical point of view, but also from a historical and sociological angle.

Obviously music lovers are mostly interested in the musical aspects. The pieces on these discs are partly less elaborate and more straightforward than what we usually hear on recordings of Renaissance polyphony, but that does not say anything about their musical value. Such music is just as appealing, but in a different way. And especially the two masses and the Magnificat can easily compete with the music by composers who are known by name. A notable aspect is the use of instruments. In some of the pieces the voices are supported by bass viol, lute and organ. This was a common practice in the 16th century, and as the ecclesiastical authorities opposed the use of other instruments, when these started to play a more important role in music life after 1600, the repertoire performed here and the way it is performed, may well have lasted into the 17th century.

The vast experience of Musica Secreta in exploring this kind of repertoire bears fruit in the way it is performed. The nine voices (six sopranos, two mezzo-sopranos and one contralto) blend perfectly, and the legato is immaculate. The voices are closer together than in a conventional SATB scoring, but the singers have still managed to create enough transparency to tell them apart. The atmosphere of the recording is such that the listener gets the feeling of witnessing nuns singing in their convent. The secular pieces require a more declamatory way of singing, and that is realized very well.

From every angle this is an important production, and lovers of Renaissance music should not miss it. I am looking forward to further projects of this fine ensemble.

Johan van Veen

http://www.musica-dei-donum.org
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Previous Review: Dominy Clements (November 2025)

Contents: 
anon
Ecce quam bonum
In illo tempore: vidit Jesus
Je le lerray puisqu’il me bat
Messa sopra Je le lerray
Da pacem Domine
Salve sancta pater
O crux, splendidior
Non è alcun di gloria degno
Vergine bella che di sol vestita
Giesù benign’ et pio
Adoramus te Christe
Kyrie eleison (Litaniae breves)
Sancta Maria, letaniae della Madonna
Adoramus te Christe/Domine Jesu Christe
Sancta Dei genitrix
Messa sopra Recordare Virgo Mater
[Vespers psalms, Common of Virgins and the Blessed Virgin Mary]
Dixit Dominus
Laudate pueri
Laetatus sum
Nisi Dominus
Lauda Jerusalem
Magnificat ottavo tono
Ave regina caelorum