I have loved the music of the female composers of the 17th century for over 30 years. Athough already performing many of those compositions in concert with my ensemble, L’Arpeggiata, I had never done a project entirely dedicated to women and women composers. I wanted to put together an album, Wonder Women that celebrated women, but also explored the difficulties of women artists, women composers, women musicians – many of which are not particular to the 17th century, but still hold true today.  

A big part of my job is to research and construct the programmes for the albums I record – and, I must admit, it’s one of the parts I find most enjoyable! I enjoy spending time in libraries – when I started, I travelled a lot to the Italian libraries, which was a special experience. I remember sitting in the Biblioteca Vaticana, looking up manuscripts from Luigi Rossi himself. Having his paper in your hands in the city where he wrote his music is extraordinary. Of course, now you can do so much online, which is less special, but a lot more convenient! 

I never do my research for my albums in one go – over several years, I’ll work on many ideas, and then when I decide to make an album about something that I find particularly interesting, I extend my research further in that direction. I’m always engaging in research - it’s a lifetime task for the kind of job that I do. 

‘Women would get married, or they would go to the monastery – so a woman who was educated in poetry and music, like Barbara, was highly unusual.’ 

I love planning my projects – it’s almost like making a film. Many conductors choose a piece first, an opera or an oratorio, and then ask singers to take on those roles. My process is quite different - I cast the singers and the artists, then I try to find something that fits to the people I have. It’s a special way of working, and it helps make sure that the albums are colourful. 

On this album, I have a fantastic artist called Luciana Mancini. She’s a Baroque singer, a classical singer, but she also sings traditional music – so when I knew she was going to be part of the cast, I could look for pieces that would fit her different style of singing. I decided on La Bruja. It’s always an exciting moment when I find a piece that perfectly fits the project. 

La Bruja opens the CD - I particularly love the work, of course because it’s great music, wonderfully sung by Luciana. But also the story behind it. La Bruja translated means ‘the witch’ – and in Mexico at that time, men would call a woman a ‘witch’ not because she had magical powers, but because she wouldn’t concede to the societal roles they wanted her to fit into. Women that were independent, wanted to live freely and do what they wanted were very suspicious, and so men would call them La Bruja. I thought that was the perfect opening track for Wonder Women because the album makes a statement: that women of all times, in all cultures should be able to live freely and live as they want. 

I also thought it was important for the recording to touch on the lives of some specific female composers in the 17th century – let’s take the example of Barbara Strozzi. She was the illegitimate daughter of Giulio Strozzi, who was a famous poet and librettist in Venice, and her mother was probably his housekeeper. He decided to adopt her – which was quite an exceptional gesture for the time – and gave her the best possible education, which was rare, as women in the 17th century weren’t allowed to go to university or even to school. Typically, there were only two options: women would get married, or they would go to the monastery – so a woman who was educated in poetry and music, like Barbara, was highly unusual. She was also part of the intellectual circle around her father, the Accademia degli Unisoni, a gathering of artists, painters, poets, composers, musicians and philosophers founded by Giulio himself – where Barbara was often invited to perform. 

As an illegitimate child, she had no official social status in Venice, so she couldn’t get married – but she was in a long-term relationship with another Venetian aristocrat and had four children with him. She earned her own money, had four of her own illegitimate children, and was a female composer and performer – it’s completely unique.

'I’m always engaging in research - it’s a lifetime task for the kind of job that I do.'

 The other big one is Francesca Caccini, who was also the daughter of a famous composer (Giulio Caccini), and grew up in the same kind of environment. She was educated by her father, and made a significant career, performing in opera productions, and even travelling to France to perform there. Of course, like Barbara, this is thanks to her special family background. 

Then, there were other composers like Isabella Leonardo. She went to a monastery when she was about 16 years old, and behind its walls, she had the freedom actually to express herself as an artist. Although she could only write sacred music, being a nun, she composed over 200 works.  

100 years ago, women were still not allowed to make careers in music or to compose. Alma Mahler-Werfel is one of the most famous examples of a female composer being held back from her artistic career by her (successful) husband. Even 50 years ago, there were hardly any female conductors. It’s still a relatively recent phenomenon that women conductors have started to have great careers. As a woman who is a conductor and leads my own Baroque ensemble, I have seen for myself how unusual this is, even now. 

We are finally in a situation where a lot of things have changed. We now have many fantastic female conductors who are starting to get the recognition they deserve. I think it’s a really exciting time, but I hope this album will help to keep the discussion going and encourage women to pursue those careers in the arts and music. 

Wonder Women by L'Arpeggiata and Christina Pluhar is out now on Warner Classics | warnerclassics.com