Maddalena Casulana Research Paper

Even though there was not enough information to state about Maddalena Casulana, she was the first Italian woman composer to ever have her musical pieces published and printed out for the public during the late Renaissance era around 1544-1590’s. Her talent of being able to play the lute and have a voice got her a lot of recognition amongst many other composers, female and male, from her time. In addition, the madrigals, which are several voices arranged in a way that they do not need any instrumental support, helped her gain the confidence that she already had to conduct for great composers and in front of royalties. Not much is known about where she was born but many followers who admired Casulana like author and astronomer Alessandro Picolmini, claimed that Casulana was born near Sienna, Italy.

Her first piece of composure dates back to 1566.

She composed four madrigals called “Il Desiderio” which were published in Venice.In 1568, she was the first woman to ever get her musical work published and printed out. She was also fortunate enough to perform for Orlando Di Lasso, another late Renaissance composer, who invited Casulana as guest to a royal wedding. Even before she was famous, Casulana always had a passion to study music. In her early ages, she trained and gave private lessons in her hometown. She went to different states teaching what she had already known about composition of music and singing. She also found herself a husband, but there is not enough facts to speak about how he contributed to her life. The madrigals that Casulana created allowed for her to put all of her personal style into play giving her freedom to how she wanted to compose and sound in her own music. That is what gave her originality amongst other composers setting aside the fact she was also a

woman.
Some of the cultural audiences that Casulana influenced were nobilities and royalties and noted musicians. Her distinct work was revolutionary in the late Renaissance Era because she was able to get the attention of many powerful people in Italy. It got to a point where even the famous Art School of Academia Olimpico had a portrait of her. Portraits of significant Renaissance influencers all had their portraits, and for Casulana to have one was important because she paved a way for a new kind of unheard and unique music in Italy. Giambattista Crispolti, another woman composer, describes a banquet in Perugia, Italy in 1582 in which Casulana performed for a supper. She was also favoured by Angelo Gardano, another noted musician, who asked if he could gain support from her since she already had a strong foundation for her self. Thus, it was most likely that she was always living a luxurious lifestyle, performing in huge and significant buildings in Italy. For her to get contacted by high officials of the late Renaissance era was significant and rewarding because she created a whole new and revolutionizing sound. Her new sound was seen as something that was revolutionizing because of the increased polyphony and secular songs. Artists from the past never experimented with that, and at the same time, this Renaissance style was taking place in which if you were skilled in the arts and sciences, you were someone very special. She was skilled enough to play the lute, and sing to speak truths to her audiences that woman also have the power to be as good as men. That was what made her a noted Renaissance “person” in her time.