Credit: Hannah Lovell

London’s Vache Baroque has announced the “ROSSI 400” Project that celebrates the music of Jewish-Italian composer Salomone Rossi, marking 400 years since the composer published “Song of Solomon.”

The project comprises two music videos featuring a madrigal by Rossi, and another by Thomas Weelkes, a champion of Rossi’s music. The madrigal texts have been given contemporary scenarios to make them more relatable to today’s world. The videos were released on Aug. 17, 2023.

Also part of the project is a series of concerts that present more secular works by Rossi. The events will take place at different venues around the city, including the Liberal Jewish Synagogue (NW8 7HA), on Sept. 9; the historic hall of The Vache House (HP8 4SD), on Nov. 4; and Belsize Square Synagogue (NW3 4HX) on Nov. 11, 2023.

The performance at The Vache will feature a five-course dinner of Italian-Jewish cuisine prepared by acclaimed chef Adam Nathan. The Belsize Square performance will be presented as part of the 2023 Tsitsit Jewish Fringe Festival.

Vocalists for these concerts include Betty Makharinsky, Clara Kanter, Jonathan Darbourne, Bradley Smith, and Tristan Hambleton.

A final concert on Dec. 13, 2023, at St. John’s Square (SW1P 3HA) will frame the story of Hanukkah through Rossi’s “Song of Solomon,” with works using the same texts by Rossi’s contemporaries, Cavalli, Schütz, and Purcell. Eight Vache Baroque singers will be joined by the award-winning instrumental ensemble La Vaghezza.

Singers include sopranos Betty Makharinsky and Amy Wood; altos: Clara Kanter and Jonathan Darbourne; tenors: Bradley Smith and tbc; and basses Tristan Hambleton and Jolyon Loy.