A program presented by Salon Sanctuary in collaboration with the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue and Centro Primo Levi. Pre-concert lecture by scholar Francesco Spagnolo, PhD, Curator of The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art & Life at the University of California, Berkeley, and a host for RAI Radiotre in Rome. Concert by the The Western Wind ensemble.
Salon/Sanctuary’s program of works by the Jewish-Italian composer Salamone Rossi (c. 1570 – 1630) returns for a third season. Featuring liturgical works in Hebrew composed for the synagogue and secular Italian madrigals penned for the Gonzaga court, the program also includes compositions for the theatrical troupe of the Ghetto, enjoyed by Jews and Gentiles alike at the height of Counter-Reformation segregation.
Salamone Rossi (ca. 1570-1630) was a Jewish musician living in the ghetto of Mantua (Italy) and active in the earlier part of the 17th century as composer and performer at the court of the Gonzaga Dukes. With assistance from Rabbi Leon Modena (1671-1648), Rossi published a collection of new polyphonic compositions with Hebrew texts, aptly titled ha-shirim asher li-shelomoh (The Songs of Solomon, Venice 1622-23), which are a testament to the cultural symbiosis between Jews and Italians during the Renaissance.
Rossi’s composition were rediscovered in Germany and Italy in the 19th century, and have since been hailed as an example of Jewish modernity and artistic creativity, becoming part of synagogue services and concert performances in the United States. Musicologist Francesco Spagnolo will offer a reassessment of Rossi’s work in light of the general role of music and of Christian presences in the Italian synagogues during the modern era.
ABOUT
Founded in 2009 by Artistic Director Jessica Gould as an alternative to the conventional concert hall, Salon/Sanctuary Concerts presents performances of pre-Romantic music in intimate venues that complement the historical context of the repertoire. Many of our projects feature innovative programming that offers the opportunity to view history and various historical issues through the prism of music.
