Isabella Leonarda

Isabella Leonarda
Portrait from Leonarda family tree[1]
Born(1620-09-06)6 September 1620
Novara, Italy
Died25 February 1704(1704-02-25) (aged 83)
Novara, Italy
Occupations
  • Composer
  • music teacher

Isabella Leonarda (6 September 1620 – 25 February 1704) was an Italian composer from Novara.[2] At the age of 16, she entered the Collegio di Sant'Orsola, an Ursuline convent, where she stayed for the remainder of her life. Leonarda is most renowned for the numerous compositions that she wrote during her time at the convent, making her one of the most productive female composers of her time.

  1. ^ Sadie & Samuel 1994, p. 233.
  2. ^ Stern 1978, p. 99.