Wassie or wasn't she?

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, pen on paper, 12"x9"

The year I first visited the birthplace of the renaissance yields much Italian music, including one from the most famous renaissance composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c. 1525-1594). He is not from Florence though, but from Rome, well Palestrina, to be precise. I can't remember in what context I heard Osculetur me osculo, but I do remember it made an impression on me.

Alice Stephens, pen on paper, 12"x9", 2023

Alice Stephens (1904-1984) was a Lithuanian-American singer and leader of a vocal folk ensemble under her own name.

Eténèsh Wassié, oil on canvas, 9"x7", 2023

Wassie (b. 1971) is the aunt of Selemnesh Zemene, who prominently featured in last year's Top 100, and, like Zemene, comes from Gondar in Ethiopia.

Giovanna Marini, oil on canvas, 9"x7", 2023