I Dodici Giardini - Cantico di Santa Caterina da Bologna (1413-1463)

• I dodici giardini - Laudes italiennes du XVème siecle

The Italian fifteenth century Laude still remain to this day a little-known and mysterious musical treasure. 2013 will mark the 600th anniversary of the birth of Saint Catherine of Bologna (1413), a woman of both deep theological insight and extraordinary, artistic talent, who founded and guided the first monastery of the Clarisse in Bologna in 1456. La Reverdie have discovered the repertory of laude sung by the Saint and her sisters, and have placed it in its original context: the expression of a mystic devotional practice which the saint herself vividly describes in her own devotional treatise «the Twelve Gardens». The skilful combination of rich and varied instrumental sonorities together with crystal clear feminine vocality, in different settings from solos to choir, perfectly conveys the simple freshness and arcane fascination of this unexplored repertory.