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longing which proceeds it again places the importance on the state of being together, not the state
of separation and short-lived pleasure. 82
5.2 MEDITATING ON THE METAPHYSICAL
While some of Casulana’s pieces simulate the sex act, others merely meditate on the
metaphysical implications of the association of sex and death. The two pieces discussed here
share the common theme of life and death in love, tying them firmly to the same madrigalian
trope that dominates the first two examples. The primary difference between them is that while
the first two pieces deal with sexual death as if it were occurring during the time of the musical
narrative, these two pieces do not imitate the sex act. They instead meditate on the philosophical
and semantic correlation between the associated words and thoughts about sex and death. As
such, the musical settings of these two pieces, while still containing madrigalian word-painting,
contain far less “musical frisson” (as LaMay calls it), and instead utilize much subtler
movements, allowing the listener to contemplate the subject rather than be badgered by blatant
sexual reference. This is possibly another way in which Casulana allowed performers of her
works to embody beautiful, philosophical music without becoming sexualized objects of the
male gaze.
“Ahi possanza d’amor” and “Gran miracol d’amore,” both from Casulana’s Il secondo
libro de madrigali a quattro voci published in 1570, highlight similar poetic themes and serve as
good examples of Casulana’s poetic voice and compositional style. “Ahi possanza d’amor” is
82 Ibid.
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