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subject for a feminist inquiry. Throughout this thesis, it is my goal to seek out and decode some
of Casulana’s social, musical, and philosophical markers within her works, helping to unlock
some of the mysteries of her unique life and perhaps provide tools for further inquiry.
1.2 METHODOLOGY
In attempting to understand the music of Madalena Casulana, it is important to explore the
musical and ideological world in which she lived. As such, I have organized my inquiry into the
life and music of Madalena Casulana along three axes: aspects of biography, heritage of thoughts
about biology and sexual difference, and musical heritage. It would prove rather useless to
attempt to understand Casulana’s music without attempting to see through the lens—or at the
very least be aware of it—with which Madalena viewed her world and her place within it.
During a time when definitions of “womanhood” were confused somewhere between passive
observer and singing voice, and commendations on beauty and purity were tempered by fear of
what evil could lay within, Madalena’s choice to claim voice via composing and publishing is
both startling and telling.
Framed by the three axes of my inquiry, my methodology exposes Casulana’s stated
desire to reveal the “conceited error of men” and be equal to them, as expressed through her use
of poetic texts that are sexual and philosophical in nature (topics deemed unsuitable for women
to discuss), and her musical choices which deny what Thomasin LaMay calls, the “male musical
climax” and emphasize unity between lovers, as well as the obvious indicator of her choice of a
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