Maddalena Casulana (ca. 1544–ca. 1590) was a composer, singer and lutenist. She composed madrigals and was the first woman composer in history to publish her work in print. Our knowledge of her life is scarce, though. As an acclaimed and adored artist at her time, she travelled a lot, including trips to Verona, Milan and Venice, where her works were published. She also visited the French royal court. In her dedication of the first book of madrigals to Isabella d'Este, Maddalena Casulana wrote she wanted to show the world that men were wrong in their conviction only men could create art. Maddalena Casulana avoided experiments in her work. Nor did she indulge in refined counterpoint and chromatics. Rather, she made her style melodious and characterised by sensitivity to textual subtleties and reflecting them in music, in search for elusive moods. She would often use surprising and impressive rhetorical figures to convey the meaning of words.
Di Madalena Casulana il secondo libro de madrigali a quattro voci (Venice 1570)
M. Casulana Vaghi amorosi augelli; Io d’odorate fronde from Di Madalena Casulana il secondo libro de madrigali a quattro voci (Venice 1570)
G. Mainerio Ballo Milanese from Il primo libro de balli accomodati per cantar et sonar d'ogni sorte de instromenti di Giorgio Mainerio Parmeggiano Maestro di Capella della S. Chiesa d'Aquilegia (Venice 1578)
M. Casulana Ben venga il pastor mio; Adio Lidia mia bella, seconda parte; Il vostro dipartir; Morte che voi; Monti selve fontane; O notte o cielo o mar from Di Madalena Casulana il secondo libro de madrigali a quattro voci (Venice 1570)
G. Mainerio Pass'e mezzo antico from Il primo libro de balli accomodati per cantar et sonar d'ogni sorte de instromenti di Giorgio Mainerio Parmeggiano Maestro di Capella della S. Chiesa d'Aquilegia (Venice 1578)
M. Casulana Cinta di fior un giorno; Occhi lucenti, seconda parte; La dea che nel mar naque, terza parte; Io felice pastore, quarta parte; Per lei pos’in oblio, quinta e ultima parte from Di Madalena Casulana il secondo libro de madrigali a quattro voci (Venice 1570)
Ars Cantus (Poland):
Monika Wieczorkowska – soprano
Radosław Pachołek – alto
Maciej Gocman – tenor
Piotr Karpeta – bass
Tomasz Dobrzański – recorder & artistic direction
Marek Nahajowski – recorder
Justyna Młynarczyk – viola da gamba
Mateusz Kowalski – viola da gamba
Milena Bukowska – archlute
Ewa Prawucka – chest organ
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