Time taken : ~10mins
Jimmy & the Magic Key was generously contributed to Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay by Roger Parellada Ferre.
Jimmy & the Magic Key follows Jimmy and his niece Lola on a magical, time-travelling adventure through the world of classical music. With the help of Jimmy's piano, which also doubles as a time machine, they journey into the past to meet some of the greatest composers in history—and lend a helping hand when they need it most!
Jimmy and Lola travel back to the Renaissance to meet Maddalena Casulana, a talented composer who dreams of sharing her music. When publishers refuse because she’s a woman, the trio comes up with a plan to prove that women can create amazing music too!
Say it like a maestro: (Mahd-da-leh-nah Kah-soo-lah-nah)
This International Women’s Day, we celebrate Maddalena Casulana, the first female composer in Western music history to have an entire book of her music printed and published under her own name!
Maddalena Casulana was an Italian composer, singer and lutenist (a musician who plays the lute). She lived during the Renaissance, around the 1500s—almost 500 years ago! No one knows for sure where she was born, but historians believe she was born near the city of Siena in Italy.
Casulana mainly composed madrigals, songs that were performed a capella by a group of singers, without instruments. They often told stories about love, nature or human emotions.
But Casulana’s music also carried an important and powerful message. During her time, many people thought that women were not intelligent or talented enough to create serious art like music. Casulana strongly disagreed! She believed women were just as capable of composing beautiful music.
In 1568, Casulana published her first complete book of madrigals in Venice. This made her the first woman in Western history to publish an entire book of her own music! She dedicated it to her close friend, Princess Isabella Romola de’ Medici. In her dedication, she wrote,
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Casulana became well known and admired by other composers of her time. The famous composer Orlando di Lassus even conducted one of her works at a royal court in Germany!
Today, it may seem normal for women to compose music, but in Casulana’s time, it was extremely rare. By publishing her music and speaking up for women’s abilities, she helped open the door for future women composers to share their work and be recognised for their talent.
Maddalena Casulana showed the world that women are just as creative, talented and capable of composing music as anyone else. Her story reminds us that talent has no limits—and that music belongs to everyone!
