ABSTRACT
In the world of the convent – the ‘real world’ for an overwhelming number of early modern Italian women (in some cities, for the great majority) 1 – sibling relationships remained powerful forces. Sibling ties fostered cloistered replications of worldly families, consisting of sisters, their sister-aunts, and even sister-great-aunts. Sibling ties also spanned convent walls to include brothers, whose daughters were accepted into convent families of women, often in times of crisis, while brothers served as nuns’ advocates in the world. Music played a surprising, little-known role in strengthening such ties of sisterhood. Shared musical talents among sisters and brothers from generation to generation encouraged convent ‘musical dynasties,’ scarcely recognized because they have remained hidden, and helped make convents important early modern centers of musical activity.
