CASULANA, Maddalena

Italian composer, lutenist and singer of the late Renaissance. 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.

In 2022 it was announced that a further 17 madrigals have been added to her surviving repertoire, with twelve of the pieces being performed for the first time in 400 years.

She earned the patronage of Isabella de’ Medici, a noble woman with a notoriously free-spirit. Maddalena dedicated the majority of her 66 madrigals to Isabella de’ Medici, the main musical subject of these madrigals. In her dedication, Casulana expressed her admiration for de’ Medici while sharing thoughts on being a woman composer in a field dominated by men:

"I know truly..that these first fruits of mine, flawed as they are, cannot produce the effect that I desire,.. evidence of my devotion to Your Excellency, also to show the world the futile error of men who believe themselves patrons of the high gifts of intellect, which according to them cannot also be held in the same way by women. Because of all this, I did not wish to fail to publish them, hoping that in Your Excellency's bright name they would achieve such light as might kindle some other, higher talent to succeed more clearly in that which except for the spirit, I have not been able to show" - Maddalena Casulana (Venice, April 10, 1568.)