This year’s Ensemble-in-Residence, Musica Spira, and the Choir of St. David’s join forces to bring to life celestial music from the cloisters of the Baroque era.

Despite rigorous ecclesiastical sanctions on the musical activities of cloistered women, music-making flourished across the seventeenth century in Italian convents. A significant number of nuns became esteemed composers and performers, among them some of the most prolific composers of the time.

This program of Vespers includes works for strings and choir that celebrate the Virgin Mary by Isabella Leonarda, Chiara Margarita Cozzolani, Claudia Francesca Rusca, Maria Perucona, and Bianca Maria Meda. Many of these womens’ works reached a broad audience outside the convent walls. Leonarda, for example, was dubbed the “Muse of Novara,” and Cozzolani was praised for her “excellent nobility of invention.” Although their tremendous popularity often elicited reprimands from religious authorities, seventeenth-century nuns persisted in producing a robust body of exquisite sacred works.

The event is free and open to the public, with doors opening at 7:00 pm. A suggested donation of $10-$20 directly benefits the musicians and the music series.

The event will also be livestreamed via Facebook and YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@stdavidsbaltimore. Online donations may be made via PayPal by visiting bit.ly/stdavidsmusicdonation, and you may sign up to receive music series e-mails via bit.ly/MusicNewsSignUp.

St. David’s Church is located at 4700 Roland Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland, with accessible parking and entrances available on Roland Avenue.