New Edition of Maddalena Casulana’s 'Primo libro de madrigali a cinque voci'

Laurie Stras

Thursday, April 13, 2023

We have received the following from Laurie Stras:

Musica Secreta are pleased to announce the publication of a new printed edition of Maddalena Casulana’s Primo libro de madrigali a cinque voci (Venice: Gardano, 1583; RISM Catalog | RISM Online).

The edition was made possible by Laurie Stras’s rediscovery in October 2021 of the Alto partbook, which went missing from the library of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Gdańsk in the mid-1940s. The partbook, together with a Canto partbook that went missing at the same time, is now located in the Russian State Library in Moscow.

The book contains seventeen madrigals, including one in two parts and one in four parts: the recovery of this music almost doubles the number of Casulana’s compositions now available complete for study and performance.

The print edition is available from Musica Secreta’s website. Individual madrigals, together with keyboard rehearsal scores, are available for PDF download. The complete book has been recorded by the British-based ensemble, Fieri Consort, available for pre-order.

Category: New publications