The feast of the Nativity held a special place in the hearts and lives of Italian nuns. This recording presents works composed by and for these women, which might have been heard or performed at Christmastime, and they call for a great variety of forces, from solo voices to double choirs of both singers and instruments. The composers represented include the Ursulines Maria Xaveria Perucona and Isabella Leonarda, author of 20 collections of vocal and instrumental music; Chiara Margarita Cozzolani and her conventual sister Rosa Giacinta Badalla, from the renowned Milanese convent of Santa Radegonda; and Caterina Assandra, composer and dedicatee of various collections. The CD also features works by eminent male composers, dedicated to these remarkable cloistered musicians.