Caterina Assandra facts for kids

Caterina Assandra (born around 1590 – died after 1618) was a talented Italian composer and a Benedictine nun. She was born in the area of Pavia, Italy. Caterina became well-known as an organist and published many musical pieces during her life.

Her music, especially a collection called Motetti a due, & tre voci, Op. 2, was dedicated to G.B. Biglia, who was the Bishop of Pavia. A publisher named Lomazzo was one of the first to recognize her amazing musical skills. Caterina Assandra became famous for her compositions, even outside of Italy.

Becoming a Musician

Caterina Assandra wrote many motets (a type of choral music) and pieces for the organ. She learned about counterpoint, which is a way of combining different melodies, from a leading teacher named Benedetto Re. He taught at Pavia Cathedral and even dedicated a piece of music to her in 1607.

A publisher named Lomazzo noticed Caterina's musical gifts early on. He even mentioned her in his dedication for the works of another composer, Giovanni Paolo Cima. Caterina created many musical works in the early 1600s.

Life in the Convent

In 1609, Caterina Assandra made vows and joined the Benedictine monastery of Saint Agata in Lomello, located in northern Italy. She took the name "Agata" as her religious name. Even after becoming a nun, she continued to compose music.

Some of her works from this time include a collection of motets in a new style called concertato, published in Milan in 1609. She also wrote an eight-voice Salve Regina in 1611 and a motet called Audite verbum Dominum for four voices in 1618. After she entered the convent, Caterina Assandra did not publish any new books of music. She was one of the first Italian nuns to have an entire collection of her musical works published.

Her Musical Career

Some of Caterina's compositions from her Op. 2 collection were even published in Germany. Other pieces by her, which were not widely known, also appeared in German music books.

Caterina Assandra's motets were among the first in the "Roman style" to be published in Milan. Researchers believe her music showed the influence of another composer named Agazzari. She wrote both traditional and very new and exciting pieces. One of her innovative works is Duo seraphim. Her motet O Salutaris hostia, found in her Motetti Op. 2, was one of the first pieces to include the 'violone', an early string instrument.

Important Influences

Two people who greatly influenced Caterina's musical style were her teacher, Benedetto Re, and the local composer Agazzari. Because she lived in a convent, her motets were often written so they could be performed without male singers. They were usually written for two sopranos, an alto, a bass, and a continuo (a bass instrument that plays chords).

On February 20, 1606, the publisher Giovanni Paolo Cima dedicated a part of his work, Partito de Ficercari & Canzoni Alla Francese, to Caterina. This is the first known mention of her as a composer, and it called her "the very excellent and most virtuous lady and my very obliging and benign Mistress: Caterina Assandra."

Her Compositions

Many of Caterina Assandra's works have survived, showing her talent as a composer.

• Her Op. 1 collection is now lost. However, two of her motets, Ave Verum Corpus and Ego Flos Campi, might have been part of that volume.
• Motetti à due, & tre voci, Op. 2, dedicated to G. B. Biglia, the Bishop of Pavia, was published in 1609 and still exists today.
• Il Canto delle Dame, a recording from 2010, includes four pieces from her Motetti of 1608: Duo Seraphim, Canzon a 4, O quam suavis, and O salutaris hostia.

Other known works by Caterina Assandra include:

• Ave verum corpus (publish date unknown)
• Canzon a 4 (for Benedetto Re) written for voice and ensemble
• Duo Seraphim written for 3 voices and continuo
• Ego flos campi
• Haec dies written in 1609 for 2 to 3 voices
• Impleos nostrum motet written for 3 voices
• Jubilate Deo written in 1609
• O Dulcis Amor Jesu motet written for 3 voices
• O quam suavais written for voice and ensemble
• O Salutaris hostia written for voice and ensemble
• Salve Regina motet written for 8 voices

See also

• In Spanish: Caterina Assandra para niños