Search - Louis Saladin, Carlo Grossi, Salomone Rossi :: Musique Judeo-Baroque

What's not to like about this album?

John Wheeler | King David's Harp, Inc., Houston, TX. USA | 01/24/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Rarely do I give unqualified praise of anything. Maybe the fact I do here (well, almost) shows my ignorance, but I like just about everything about this album. What's not to like? OK, I would've liked some transliterations and not just translations of the Hebrew texts in the liner notes, but the whole concept of Judeo-Baroque music is fascinating. This album gives a view into a unique confluence of cultures at a unique time, and features two special loves of mine while it does (Hebrew and Baroque music). The instrumental and vocal performances are splendid, the liner notes informative, and the cover attractive. As I said, what's not to like?Well, at least some people at the time didn't like some of this music. To the Jews, it was too musically alien; to the Gentiles, too verbally alien. Sometimes you just can't win. But some Jewish composers of Baroque music (like Rossi) did well for themselves then and retain lasting fame now -- and that's good news all around. As for the modern listerner, if you like Baroque music, you ought to like this: European ear candy with just enough Middle Eastern spice to be interesting. I'd recommend it for Sabbath listening and secular enjoyment alike, and you can't say that about every album."

Multicultural in the best sense of the word

John Wheeler | 03/19/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It's enlightening and, frankly, very moving to hear well-known Hebrew texts such as the "Bar'chu" and "Adon Olam" brought forth from the synagogue and recast as Baroque gems. If Jewish tradition and "mainstream" classical idioms have always inhabited different musical spheres in your mind, those worlds will collide here.



The only fault with this recording that I would mention is the chorus' rather aggressive delivery, particularly in some of the Rossi--a relentless intensity that I associate more happily with the Boston Camerata's excellent recordings of American traditional repertoire than with the Baroque. But certainly a spirited and exacting performance."

A Pleasure From Start To Finish

Timothy Dougal | Madison, Wi United States | 08/06/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD may be one of the biggest surprizes I have ever had. If you can imagine the music of Monteverdi sung in Hebrew, I don't need to say a lot more. The three pieces on this disc were composed by three composers with whom I was unfamiliar: Salamone de Rossi Ebreo, a Mantuan Jew, Louis Saladin, a Gentile of Provencal, and Carlo Grossi, a Gentile of Modena. As noted above, all the lyrics are in Hebrew, but the musical style is pure, fresh and delightful 17th century early Baroque. The pieces were apparently composed for festive celebrations, and the Boston Camerata under Joel Cohen keeps that mood throughout the disc. The disc is a little short-41 minutes-but nicely priced, and wonderful sounding."