The Guardian recently published an article about the rediscovery and first performances of a series of choral works possibly composed by the granddaughter of Gnostic Saint, Roderic Borgia aka Pope Alexander VI. The compositions were uncovered by musicologist Laurie Stras who found an intriguing song title in a bibliography of 16th century music works. She ordered a reproduction of the book the piece appeared in along with 22 other titles by the same anonymous composer. Stras then set to work putting the work into a form that could be utilized by contemporary singers. Along the way she began to wonder about the identity of the composer and her conjectures led her to a nun princess called Suor Leonora d’Este, the daughter of Lucrezia Borgia, the latter being the illicit progeny of Roderic. Hear the music and read about Stras’ detective work on both the music and the identity of its creator here:
