Music lovers are to be seduced by the passionate songs of a group of dangerous women.

They were the forerunners for Destiny's Child, The Supremes and Girls Aloud - legends of their time who wowed audiences with charm and ground-breaking vocal harmonies.

Four hundred years on, not a lot of people remember the singing women of Ferrara but the trailblazers were among the first truly professional singers of the late 16th and early 17th Centuries.

Their art has been chosen to open a new Brighton festival which will champion all but forgotten female composers who, because of the social code of the day, did not receive recognition in their lifetimes.

The Brighton Early Music Festival, which runs from September 26 to October 5, showcases music spanning 600 years, from that of a feisty medieval abbess to Handel.

Among the highlights are concerts celebrating the lives and music of two key nun composers - the feisty abbess Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) and the Bolognese nun Lucrezia Orsina Vizzana (1590-1662).

The Nuns' Evening features medieval group Mediva presenting a celebration of Hildegard's life and music, juxtaposed with the earthier side of medieval Germany - racy songs and tales from the Carmina Burana manuscript.

The festival was launched last year with a pilot project of six concerts.

They were so well received that this year's event is much bigger, incorporating workshops for schools and the public, talks, outdoor events and 20 concerts throughout the day until late evening.

There is an impressive line-up of some of the UK's best early music performers including the country's best-loved early music soprano, Emma Kirkby.

The opening event - Dangerous Graces - celebrates the passionate and virtuosic music written for the legendary singing ladies of Ferrara.

It brings to life the court of Duke Alfonso II d'Este, who assembled a group of women musicians and singers who would perform private shows for their elite audience in a very early form of cabaret.

There is also a Medieval Music for Beginners workshop for all comers.

The Nuns' Evening is on September 28 at the Church of St Michael and All Angels, Victoria Road, Brighton.

For more information, visit the Brighton Early Music Festival web site at www.bremf.org.uk To request a brochure, call 01273 833950.