Maddalena Casulana (c. 1544 – c. 1590) was an Italian
composer, lutenist and singer of the late Renaissance.
She is the first female composer to have her music
printed and published in the history of western
music.
Extremely little is known about her life, other than
what can be inferred from the dedications and writings
on her collections of madrigals. Most likely she was
born at Casole d'Elsa, near Siena, from the evidence of
her name. Her first work dates from 1566: four
madrigals...(+)
Maddalena Casulana (c. 1544 – c. 1590) was an Italian
composer, lutenist and singer of the late Renaissance.
She is the first female composer to have her music
printed and published in the history of western
music.
Extremely little is known about her life, other than
what can be inferred from the dedications and writings
on her collections of madrigals. Most likely she was
born at Casole d'Elsa, near Siena, from the evidence of
her name. Her first work dates from 1566: four
madrigals in a collection, Il Desiderio, which she
produced in Florence. Two years later she published in
Venice her first actual book of madrigals for four
voices, Il primo libro di madrigali, which is the first
printed, published work by a woman in western music
history. Also that year Orlando di Lasso conducted a
work of hers at the court of Albert V, Duke of Bavaria
in Munich; however the music has not survived.
She evidently was close to Isabella de' Medici, and
dedicated some of her music to her. In 1570, 1583 and
1586 she published other books of madrigals, all at
Venice. Sometime during this period she married a man
named Mezari, but no other information is known about
him, or where she (or they) were living. Evidently she
visited Verona, Milan and Florence, based on
information contained in dedications, and likely she
went to Venice as well, since her music was published
there and numerous Venetians commented on her
abilities.
The following line in the dedication to her first book
of madrigals, to Isabella de' Medici, shows her feeling
about being a female composer at a time when such a
thing was rare: "[I] want to show the world, as much as
I can in this profession of music, the vain error of
men that they alone possess the gifts of intellect and
artistry, and that such gifts are never given to
women."
Her style is moderately contrapuntal and chromatic,
reminiscent of some of the early work by Marenzio as
well as many madrigals by Philippe de Monte, but avoids
the extreme experimentation of the Ferrara school
composers such as Luzzaschi and Gesualdo. Her melodic
lines are singable and carefully attentive to the text.
Other composers of the time, such as Philippe de Monte,
thought highly of her; that Lassus conducted a work of
hers at a wedding in Bavaria suggests that he also was
impressed with her ability. A total of 66 madrigals by
Casulana have survived.
Although originally created for Lute & Voice (SAT), I
created this arrangement for Solo Concert (Pedal) Harp.
