Alma Redemptoris Mater

Notes from the editor:
Chiara Margarita Cozzolani (1602 - ca. 1678) was choir nun and composer who resided in the Convent of Santa Radegonda in Milan, Italy. Like many young women from wealthy families, she professed her vows at age 18 and lived her entire life behind the stone walls and iron grates of the convent. She composed and published four volumes of music for the famous choir nuns at Santa Radegonda.
Alma Redemptoris Mater is a Marian antiphon form Cozzolani’s 1642 volume of music. It would probably have been sung at the office of Compline, a service of prayers at the end of the day. The performance would have taken place in the chapel with the nuns singing and playing behind a wall or iron grate to obscure their faces from the public.
Originally scored for soprano, bass, and organ, this edition seeks to restore the music from the original published copy for an authentic performance. The edition retains the key and time signatures, but transposes the bass up an octave, and in some cases, two octaves. All editorial marking are in brackets, and the figured bass has been realised. For the most authentic sound, an organ or harpsichord should be used as well as a cello and/or double bass to complete the continuo consort.