Arcadia, that imaginary place where shepherds, nymphs, gods and demigods lived in an idyllic environment and in close union with nature; it was created and described by various poets and artists of the Renaissance and its texts were used by composers of the 16th and 17th centuries to compose madrigals, songs and operas. (Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo is a clear example). The pastoral genre was very successful in the Renaissance and there were many musical compositions based on pastoral texts whose main theme revolved around nature, love – the joys and torments that it brought with it, unrequited or betrayed loves-, death, etc.

This CD is composed of works that use the texts of the pastoral genre by authors such as Guarini (“Ilpastor fido”), Sannazaro (“Arcadia”), Petrarque (“Canzoniere”), etc., with special attention to the practice of diminution. Leonor contributes for the most part, with diminutions written by her on madrigals and songs from the 16th and 17th centuries, following her specialisation in this repertoire.