Search - Salomone Rossi, L'Aura Soave :: Salomone Rossi

Rossi Was Pleased to Give Up a Star

Giordano Bruno | Wherever I am, I am. | 10/14/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A contemporary of Monteverdi in Mantua, Salomone Rossi (1570-1630) was more than just another madrigalist. He was also an accomplished violinist and composer of delightfully frisky instrumental music; indeed he is credited by musicologists as the pioneer of the "trio sonata" combining two instruments with basso continuo. In other words, he deserves some of the credit for the "seconda prattica" that Monteverdi claimed for himself. Rossi's madrigals are distinctive in the elaboration of the parts he wrote for chitarrone (an expanded lute). But madrigals were secondary to his immense output of polyphonic settings of the Psalms in their original language.



Sad to say, Rossi has been brutally mistreated by our modern performing industry. There are dozens of recordings of his work, but they are almost all second rate at best. I can't think of another composer who has been so often performed inadequately. This CD by the ensemble L'Aura Soave is by far the most enjoyable recording of Rossi's madrigals that I've encountered.



Lutenist and director Diego Cantalupi plucks the chitarrone continuo suavely indeed. He is clearly the star of his own ensemble. The five singers of L'Aura Soave are somewhat less suave. The two tenors are a bit breathy here and there. The two sopranos - Antonella Tatulli and Diana Pelegatti - have lovely bright voices but tend toward uniformity of expression, and are not always free of tuning issues. Still, this is as worthy a performance of Rossi as we're likely to hear, unless Bill Christie or Alan Curtis takes an interest in him.

Rating: 4.5"