Barbara Strozzi was a true 17th-century revolutionary. The adopted and quite possibly the natural daughter of poet and librettist Giulio Strozzi, she grew up in the bosom of the Venetian intelligentsia, taking part in debates from the age of 15. Her tally of 120 published works for solo voice was unequalled by any of her contemporaries. Despite remaining single, she managed to support four children on the income from her music alone. The quality of her output is matched only by Monteverdi.
Virtuosissima Sirena comprises a handful of cantatas and arias interspersed with effervescent trio sonatas by Legrenzi and Castello. Accademia dell’Annunciata’s lineup of two violins, cello, theorbo, double harp and harpsichord lends the music a shimmering sweetness that’s perhaps more sumptuous than the composer would have expected but is nonetheless enchanting.
The musical language is full of madrigalian effects: dissonant intervals to express pain; measured rests to convey sighs and tears. Laura Catrani’s unfussy soprano is emotive in L’Amante Segreto (The Secret Lover), a bittersweet lament over a drooping ground bass, and lively in Costume de Grande (Customs of the Great), Strozzi’s setting of one of her father’s poetic tilts at high society. Riccardo Doni’s direction lets this music breathe and therefore speak.
