This thesis explores the ways in which Madalena Casulana (ca. 1540ca. 1590) expressed her stated desire to overturn the misconceptions of sixteenth-century patriarchy that maintained that women did not have the ability to think and compose music as men did. Through an investigation into her life and works, as well as her philosophical and musical heritage, this thesis reveals that Casulana was not only aware of the gender barriers and stereotypes that made her position as a female composer precarious at best, but also that she sought to liberate women from their rigidly proscribed status. Examining the Greco-Roman roots of contemporary thoughts about biology and gender difference provides insight into the segregated world in which Casulana worked and explains the language of innuendo that permeated Casulanas musical medium, the madrigal. Her madrigals reveal a high level of training and creativity within the medium, but it is the way in which she utilizes her skill of representation through the madrigal that reveals her own voice amid the traditional tropes. Through manipulation of madrigal tropes, Casulana liberates the female voice from its traditional role as the conquered victim of male sexual fantasy, bridges the gap between the traditional associations of men as intellectual beings and women as sensual, and emphasizes unity and equality between the sexes.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-04162009-142915 |
| Date | 04 June 2009 |
| Creators | Heere-Beyer, Samantha Erin |
| Contributors | James P. Cassaro, MLS, MA, Don O. Franklin, PhD, Mary S. Lewis, PhD |
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
| Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-04162009-142915/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Pittsburgh or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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