“I was first introduced to Salamone Rossi when I was 15 years old," says Conductor Matthew Lazar. "His music spoke as the great Western composers did, combining accessible yet riveting music with familiar and meaningful texts creating an extraordinary experience and a journey like no other in the Jewish music canon. I had never heard Western harmony, especially in the Renaissance and early Baroque style, so completely and easily express the essence of Jewish texts through the music."

Rossi was one of the great innovative musical figures in late 16th and early 17th century in instrumental and vocal music and collaborated with the celebrated Monteverdi and others. Determined to communicate Jewish texts in the musical style of his time, he was the first composer to apply Western musical harmonies and techniques to illuminate Jewish liturgical texts. Just as Handel wrote music to express his faith in his “Messiah,” similarly Rossi composed this music as a testament to his Jewish identity and faith.

Rossi’s canon was written, as all music is, from left to right but the text, which is in Hebrew, was written from right to left. The musicians in Mantua had to master both vocabularies in order to sing Rossi’s liturgical choral music. Lazar has assembled a unique ensemble of professional soloists, the Mantua Singers, who will perform in this concert.

The Mantua Singers was created by Matthew Lazar to give voice to the extraordinary Jewish music of Salamone Rossi. While its members all enjoy successful solo careers, their combined sound, coupled with their unique ability to realize the Jewish sensibilities of the Italian master create an unparalleled ensemble. Each member of the Mantua Singers understands Rossi’s musical style and its relationship to the Hebrew text, a necessity for performing Rossi’s music passionately and with historical accuracy.

As an established musician and composer, Rossi was so well regarded that although there was discrimination against Jews (most of whom were confined to ghettos), he was exempt from wearing the badge required of Jews. The publishing of his own musical settings was a testimony to his determination and ingenuity, creating “something new in the land,” the first published manuscript with musical notation and Hebrew characters. Rossi departed from the 1500-year-old practice that rejected music other than traditional chants and modes in the synagogue, and gained rabbinic endorsement to establish an archetype by which subsequent composers and their work may be measured.

Tickets for the live concert may be ordered at Music of Salamone Rossi (kaufmanmusiccenter.org) for a cost of $40.00/$20.00 for students. This event is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Contact: 

Cathy Callegari
cathy@callprinc.com
917-968-7706

About Zamir Choral Foundation

The Zamir Choral Foundation aims to promote Jewish commitment through choral singing by building a strong sense of community among professional and amateur singers who are multi-generational and inter-denominational, broadening the Jewish cultural experience and bringing age-old Jewish tradition into modern focus. Matthew Lazar, Founder and Director of Zamir Choral Foundation, is the leading force of the Jewish choral movement in the US.

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