It’s easy to think of Chrissie Hynde and Pink and Madonna and Miranda Lambert and Kacey Musgraves as torchbearers for the Empowered Female Vocalists.

But lest ye think history is otherwise bereft of such things, consider Concerto delle donne, a trio of 17th-century singers renowned for their performances in the courts of the late Italian Renaissance. Today, it’s perhaps hard to imagine such things — but now you don’t have to.

New York’s esteemed early music ensemble TENET brings their 2014-15 season to a close with “The Secret Lover,” an homage to Concerto delle donne and a celebration of music by, for and about women. “The Secret Lover” is a translation of 17th-century composer Barbara Strozzi’s cantata L’amante segreto and TENET sopranos Jolle Greenleaf and Molly Quinn and mezzo-soprano Virginia Warnken will perform it Friday in New London’s St. James Episcopal Church.

Also on the program will be works by Luigi Rossi, Francensca Caccini, Sigismondo D’India — and a TENET-commissioned trio piece by Caroline Shaw.

— Rick Koster

TENET presents “The Secret Lover,” 7 p.m. Friday, St. James Episcopal Church, 76 Federal St., New London; free; (860) 443-4989.