News

Finally breaking radio silence after many weeks of boffin activity for me (Laurie) and course activity for Deborah! I certainly didn’t intend to leave off news for such a long time, but so many things converged in the spring and early summer. Some brief updates here. Course at Triora Musica: This past week, 22-29 July, … Read more

We are very pleased that this year Triora Musica will again be hosting a week-long course for experienced female singers – high sopranos to low tenors! – looking at convent polyphony from the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, including works by Josquin des Prez and anonymous motets from convent manuscript sources. Come and sing with … Read more

To mark International Women’s Day 2017, Laurie will join Donald Macleod in conversation about the women musicians of Renaissance Ferrara on BBC Radio 3’s Composer of the Week. Listen in every day 6-10 March 2017, at 1200 or 1830 to hear the stories of the princesses, the nuns, and the princess nuns.  Our new CD, … Read more

The day is almost here:  the CD will officially be on sale from tomorrow!  And just in time, we can now show you this fabulous film, made by David Lefeber, the magician (producer and engineer extraordinaire) who recorded the CD. I’ll be packing up all the pre-orders this evening so they can go in the … Read more

There is a new interview with Laurie on the Obsidian website: http://obsidianrecords.co.uk/interview-with-laurie-stras.  We’re getting closer and closer to the release date!!  Don’t forget you can pre-order your copy, so that it will be with you to celebrate International Women’s Day with us!

Salve sponsa Dei virgo sacra planta minorum Tu vas munditie tu previa forma sororum Clara tua precibus duc nos ad regna polorum. One of the most unusual tracks on Lucrezia Borgia’s Daughter is the setting of the Magnificat antiphon for the Second Vespers of the Feast of St Clare, “Salve sponsa Dei.”  On the surface, it … Read more

It’s wet, it’s windy, and spring feels a long way away today, so we thought we’d brighten your day with another preview from Lucrezia Borgia’s Daughter, which will be available one month today. This motet is probably the most radical on the disc.  It’s a setting of the Mass Gradual for Easter Sunday.  Imagine you are … Read more

It’s all getting very exciting here: the CDs have arrived in the warehouse, and we will have our hands on them very soon.  So to celebrate, and to intrigue you all, here is another preview from the disc.  This wonderful motet is for the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  In the second part, the … Read more

We are delighted to announce that our forthcoming CD, Lucrezia Borgia’s Daughter, will be released on Obsidian Records early in 2017.  We are particularly pleased to be working with Obsidian, a label that has established itself as a leader in bringing together the highest standards of scholarship, musicianship, and production to their releases.  We hope that … Read more

Just one little snippet we can share now… Our friends over at Les Canards Chantants set a challenge this summer as to which ensemble could come up with the naughtiest chord.  Theirs was pretty saucy, we must admit, but we think this one from Suor Anonima’s setting of ‘Haec dies’ is unbeatable: