Digital Casulana is a digital portal devoted to Maddalena Casulana, the first woman to publish music under her own name. The project’s first phase centres on a polyphonic reconstruction of her first collection, the Primo libro de’ madrigali a quattro voci, published in Venice in 1568. Only the canto and tenore parts of this print have survived. The digital edition (MEI/PDF) provides reconstructed versions of the missing voices, prepared by Catherine Deutsch and Marc Busnel. The reconstructed edition published on Digital Casulana is the one performed by Doulce Mémoire in its programme Isabella, l’étoile des Médicis (Isabella, Star of the Medici), premiered at the Présence compositrices festival in April 2025 (dir. Nolwenn Le Gwern). Digital Casulana also includes the critical edition of the five complete pieces from the volume, published the Venetian anthologies Il Desiderio in 1566 and 1567. Selected pieces are accompanied by video recordings (artistic direction: Nolwenn Le Gwern; filmed by Amélie Mignon; sound recording: Clément Gariel; co-produced by Doulce Mémoire, Université de Lorraine, and the Institut universitaire de France).

Fields: Musicology; Women’s musical heritage; Critical editing; History of feminisms

Project keywords:Maddalena Casulana; Madrigal; Polyphonic reconstruction

Coordinating research unit:
CRULH – Centre de Recherche Universitaire Lorrain d’Histoire (Université de Lorraine)

Partners (funders):
- IUF – Institut universitaire de France
- MSH Lorraine – Maison des Sciences sociales et des Humanités Lorraine (UAR3261, CNRS / Université de Lorraine),
- CRULH – Centre de Recherche Universitaire Lorrain d’Histoire (Université de Lorraine)