a delightful Sunday afternoon

It snowed Saturday night and I shoveled a good part of Sunday morning. I wanted to clear our driveway because I had the unexpected opportunity to hear the Capella Clausura [http://www.clausura.org/]. This is a women’s ensemble in Boston that specializes in music written through the centuries by nuns in monasteries. I’d never heard of them until a friend called and asked if I wanted join her for an Early Music concert. It sounded like fun so I went along.

I should explain that even though the words often get used interchangeably there is a difference between nuns and sisters. Nuns usually live in cloistered monasteries while sisters live among the people and engage in a ministry/service/job that responds to the needs of people. I belong to a community of sisters -- not nuns.

There were seven vocalists, two cellos, a keyboard, and the director. They did a number of short pieces by two 16th century women named Vittoria and Rafaella Aleotti. I’d never heard of them either but it was magnificent.

The woman who introduced the concert explained that this music was as respected and sought after in towns surrounding the monasteries as a sporting event would be today! Even after the Church officials barred women from performing in public, the women in the monasteries were resourceful in finding ways to continue singing. The concert turned out to be an unexpected gift both for the sheer enjoyment of the music and the opportunity to know of this group which is so committed to bringing to light the music of these talented women.