DIGITAL PRODUCT
O notte, O cielo, O mar (Maddalena Casulana, ed. Michael Winter)
O notte, O cielo, O mar (Maddalena Casulana, ed. Michael Winter)
Tags: Critical edition, Madrigal, Renaissance, SATB, Secular, Unaccompanied
Collections: Maddalena Casulana, Michael Winter | Editor, Secular, Women composers
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In this deeply expressive madrigal, O notte, o cielo, o mar, Madalena Casulana gives voice to grief through a dramatic invocation of the natural world. The speaker addresses the night, sky, sea, mountains, and forests; all are faithful witnesses to a sorrow so profound it cries out for death. This piece exemplifies Casulana’s command of emotional expression, revealing not only her compositional skill but also her courage in exploring themes of suffering and vulnerability.
Catalogue number: CE2504
ISMN: 979-0-708266-33-4
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Maddalena Casulana (c. 1544 – c. 1590) was an Italian composer, singer, and lutenist, and the first woman known to have published music. She was likely born near Siena, and benefited from the patronage of Isabella de' Medici
Her Primo libro de’ madrigali (1568) was a landmark publication, not just musically, but socially. In its dedication, Casulana challenged the belief that intellectual and artistic talent belonged only to men. She wrote of the desire ‘to show to the world… the foolish error of men who so greatly believe themselves to be the masters of high intellectual gifts that [these gifts] cannot… be equally common among women.’
Casulana was well respected in her time, traveling to Munich to compose for a royal wedding, performing in elite academies, and inspiring dedications from poets and musicians alike. Though her output was small, her impact was historic as a pioneer for women in music publishing and composition.
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