Women and Music in Sixteenth-Century Ferrara wins major book prize


We are delighted that Laurie’s book, Women and Music in Sixteenth-Century Ferrara has been selected for the 2019 Otto Kinkeldey Award from the American Musicological Society, which is for a “musicological book of exceptional merit published during the previous year by a scholar who is past the early stages of his or her career.” This is one of the highest accolades in musicology – and it is the first overtly feminist study that has carried the field. The citation reads:

This ground-breaking volume brings to life an entire century of female creativity, taking an original approach through a combination of subjects – court and convent culture, sacred and secular music – that have often been treated separately in the past. Extensive new archival discoveries and reconstruction of unfamiliar repertories and performance practices are woven into a searching analysis of people, music, music-making, and relationships, honed by the author’s expertise as both performer and scholar. Her diverse approaches enable a thorough, rigorous, and lively musical and social history of an extraordinary century of female music-making. The book offers insights and inspiration not only to musicologists and historians, but also to creative writers, performers, and composers.

The book was also awarded an Honorable Mention in the Best Book category of the Society for the Study of Early Modern Women 2019 awards, and was a finalist in January 2019’s PROSE awards from the Association of American Publishers.

Laurie is very grateful to all those who have contributed their time, musicianship, advice, snacks, tea, and labour to Musica Secreta and Celestial Sirens, and is happy to share the warm glow of achievement with all of you. Evviva!!

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