Writing the tunes of our prayers
SALOMONE ROSSI, whilst not shifting the landscape of Renaissance Italian vocal music, nevertheless created something far greater — a dedicated brand of music for Jewish prayer. That he did this initially from his employment at the Catholic musical establishment of the Gonzaga family in Mantua only enhances his extraordinary achievement. A film entitled Hebreo: Salomone Rossi was recently shown online, offering a fascinating insight into this remarkable musician.
Born around 1570, he entered the service at the court of Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga in 1587 as a singer and violist. He became leader of the duke’s court musicians and was responsible for supplying musical entertainment at banquets, weddings and theatre productions. He also provided vocal and instrumental compositions for the ducal family and their honoured guests. Indeed, Vincenzo thought so highly of his Jewish protege that a decree was issued exempting him from having to display the required yellow badge on his hat.
In the field of instrumental music Rossi was indeed a pioneer, being one of the earliest composers to strip back the Renaissance principle of multiple lines each with its own refrain, known as “polyphony.” This transformed chamber music into a pure one-melody genre, heralding the development of the Baroque violin sonata.
In Jewish cantorial music, however, his innovatory emphasis moved in the opposite direction. Synagogues at the time used traditional one-voice melodies to intone the liturgy. Rossi wanted to emulate the music produced by his peers Claudio Monteverdi and “the other Rossi” (his namesake Luigi, who was neither related nor Jewish) by bringing the textured vocal layers of polyphony into the service.
To achieve these ends he needed two things: money and rabbinical approval. Secular and financial support was provided to him by the banker Moses Sullam. As for the religious aspects, Rabbi Leone da Modena ruled in 1605 that, after many years of prohibition, choral works could be performed in the synagogue. This kick-started Rossi’s transformation of the liturgy, culminating in his 1623 collection of 33 psalms and prayers, set to Hebrew texts for three to eight voices, known as Ha-Shirim Asher li-Shelomo (Songs of Solomon). Included amongst this profusion of riches are well-loved favourites such as Barekhu, Yigdal, Ein keloheinu and Adon Olam. All of these and more were meticulously crafted in fine filigree for the delicate intertwining voices of the performers.
In effect, what Rossi had accomplished was to single-handedly introduce into the synagogue sublime art music which was poles apart from the previously heard traditional chants of the service. A number of these are exquisitely rendered in the film by the award-winning Israeli vocal ensemble Profeti della Quinta, directed by Elam Rotem, who are seen rehearsing and performing in various beautiful locations in Mantua, including the synagogue and the Duke ’s Palace.
Rossi paved the way for the use of Hebrew in the refined liturgical songs of the 19th century as purveyed by the chazans Salomon Sulzer and Louis Lewandowski. He also arguably provided the link between the harp accompanied psalms of King David and, millennia later, the composers Ernest Bloch (Schelomo and Baal Shem) and Leonard Bernstein (who struggled his whole life with his Judaism and produced various quasi-religious works) in the 20th century.
There’s no better epitaph for Rossi than the words of Vincenzo himself: “How dear is the service that for many years Salomone de Rossi Hebreo has given to us, by virtue of his talent as a composer.”
The film, sympathetically crafted with imagination and invention by New York born opera director Joseph Rochlitz, wonderfully melds Rossi’s vision of Jewish music into the social fabric of Mantuan life of the time, accompanied by stunning vocal performances and wonderful views of the town and countryside.
This is music that’s an integral part of our Jewish heritage and deserves its recent exposure. The film can be purchased as a DVD at com or