Leonora Duarte

Who was Leonora Duarte?

Leonora Duarte was a Flemish composer and musician, born in Antwerp. She belonged to a wealthy Portuguese-Jewish family. They were marrano, meaning they outwardly acted as Catholics while secretly maintaining their Jewish faith and practices. She was baptized on 28 July 1610.

The Duarte home was a center for music-making and had contact with many important families in the Low Countries and England. Duarte wrote for viol consort. Her surviving compositions include seven fantasies for a consort of five viols.