From Ghetto to Palazzo

Co-produced with The Museum of Jewish Heritage and co-presented by Centro Primo Levi, an unprecedented exploration of Rossi's music and time marks the fourth presentation of Salon/Sanctuary's program devoted to the groundbreaking Italian-Jewish composer.

A violinist in Monteverdi's orchestra, Salomone Rossi (c. 1570 – 1630) is credited with having invented the trio sonata. His introduction of polyphonic music to the synagogue, where only monody had been accepted as befitting a people in exile, made him a controversial figure in his own community. His sister, a soprano at the same court that he served, premiered roles and sang madrigals of Monteverdi at Palazzo Te, the pleasure palace of the Gonzaga.

In his dual role as court and synagogue composer, Rossi inhabited two worlds at a curious time of both heightened physical segregation and active social interaction between Jews and Christians. An afternoon of music, film, and discussion offers a unique opportunity to explore the many forces that shaped his shifting world and beautiful music, and the tension between exile and acceptance that often recedes but never fades from history.

The afternoon will open with a selection of Rossi sinfonie featuring members of the NY-based La Folia ensemble, and will continue with a short talk with Rossi scholar Francesco Spagnolo of UC Berkeley, followed by a screening of the critically acclaimed 2012 Joseph Rochlitz film, Hebreo: In Search of Salomone Rossi, and conclude with a performance by the award-winning Basel-based ensemble, Profeti della Quinta, First Prize Winners of the 2011 York Early Music Competition.

Schedule of Events

2:30 – 3:00 Instrumental music of Rossi

3:00 - 3:30 Discussion of Rossi's Life and World 

?3:30 - 3:45 Break for Italian-Kosher refreshments 

?3:45 - 4:30 Film: Hebreo: In Search of Salomone Rossi

4:30 - 6:00 Concert of vocal works by Rossi and his contemporaries performed by Profeti della Quinta.