Title page, 1623, Rossi’s publication of ground breaking music for the synagogue

Cantor's Pick of the Week

by Arlene Frank

Salomone Rossi and his Innovations

Early Music Sources

https://www.earlymusicsources.com/youtube/rossi

Elam Rotem

We just celebrated our Jews of All Hues - Italy. It was truly a wonderful event from start to finish. Again, so much goes into these events; the planning, the volunteer speakers, the catering, the funds, the educational committee’s input, the set up and more. Hearty thank yous to all who step up to make this monthly program a reality.

Musically, we packed into the service some truly meaningful Italian settings to some of the Friday evening prayers, starting off the service with a Hinei Mah Tov in Hebrew and Italian and even finishing off the service with a selection from Verdi’s Rigoletto set to the text of Adon Olam. Everybody sang AND smiled! Thank you, Ivan Docenko, our pianist for the evening, for his masterful accompaniment.

Furthering this topic of Italian Jewry and synagogue music, I would like to explore the tremendous influence of Salomone Rossi, 1570-1630, gifted Italian Jewish violinist and prolific composer. I am sharing with you a longer video selection this time for Cantor’s Pick as it is so informative and creatively fashioned. It’s about 15 minutes, but action packed. :)

Over his career, Rossi composed and published 150 secular works in Italian including canzonettes and madrigals and was an innovator; publishing for the first time ever, works with tablature for the stringed instrument, the chitarrone, and solo vocal line. This was a cutting edge departure from the norm.

Vocal music at the time was composed, as was the fashion, for multiple voices in layers of sections/parts, designed to blend seamlessly. You have heard that unmistakable sound of the medieval chant; of voices in a very structured, careful harmony and dignified counterpoint. In his innovation, the chitarrone assumes these harmonies, written out for the player in tablature fashion.

He was also the first Jewish composer ever, anywhere, to publish printed music created for the synagogue service. His breathtaking and historic publication, Hashirim Asher L’Shlomo is also a clever pun of his very own Hebrew name, Sh’lomo, and King Solomon (Sh’lomo), the composer-king who wrote over 1000 songs.

Table of contents and voice chart for first voice of Halleluyah 

This video describes his rise to fame in the Mantuan court, the challenges of the Jews and the Jewish Ghetto and his innovations, all in an engaging short video. It also describes the challenge of writing music for the Hebrew singer, for the first time, combining the conventions of music, reading left to right and Hebrew, reading right to left! We are assured that the singers of his synagogue music were not only educated in the Jewish service, but read Hebrew as well as music.

At the Rivers of Babylon - voice line, Hebrew running right to left while music running left to right. Knowledge of the prayers in Hebrew was required.  

With all his foresight and innovation, there wasn’t another publication of Jewish music for the synagogue until 200 years after his death. 

Thanks for joining me this morning!

Cantor Arlene Frank