Barbara Strozzi was the most prolific composer of vocal music in 17th century Venice. She wrote mainly secular songs for soprano, but she did compose one volume of sacred music. She was said to be a courtesan, but this was likely jealous rumors from her male contemporaries. Listen to Lagrime mie - Emanuela Galli.
This post is part WXXI Classical 91.5’s celebration of Women’s History Month. For more of these stories and other resources, check out Celebrating the Contributions of Women to Classical Music.