Les sept Psaumes de David 1

Antonia Bembo was an Italian composer and singer, active in Paris during the later part of Louis XIV’s reign – he awarded her a pension. In 1654 she was studying with Francesco Cavalli. She married a nobleman, Lorenzo Bembo, in 1655; they had three children, Andrea, Giacomo and Diana. Before 1676 Antonia Bembo left Venice an went to Paris. Bembo’s music can be dated from 1697 to 1707 and includes sacred and secular vocal compositions. The seven psalms of David, so-named atonement psalms, are settings of french psalm-paraphrases written by Elisabeth-Sophie Chéron (1648-1711). Each psalm has its own colour and they all have different instrumentation from solo voice to vocal quartet – but always with two melody instruments and a basso continue.