Songs of the Great Temple of Rome (Volume I)
By Pasquale Troìa[1]Pasquale Troìa is Professor of Bible and Music at the ISSR Mater Ecclesiae and at the Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum, Rome., Alberto Funaro, Claudio Di Segni, Angelo Spizzichino
Gangemi Editore International, Dec 9, 2021, 192 p. and 1 CD-ROM
The first of two volumes dedicated to the heritage of liturgical chants of the Jewish community of Rome, this work by Pasquale Troia studies for the first time the musical manuscripts of the Historical Archives of the Jewish Community of Rome. These archives contain mainly scores representative of the traditions of the five historical synagogues of Rome (Cinque Scole): two synagogues were destined for immigrants from Spain in 1492 (Scola Catalana and Scola Castigliana), one for those from Sicily (Scola Siciliana), and two others for the Jews already present in Rome at the time of these migrations and before the creation of the Ghetto in 1555 (Scola Tempio and Scola Nova). The archives of the Jewish community of Rome also contain manuscript scores composed by Jewish and non-Jewish musicians since July 27, 1904, the date of the inauguration of the Great Temple of Rome (Tempio Maggiore). These musical manuscripts tell the story of the religious, historical and cultural identity of Roman Jews. The book is accompanied by a CD-ROM containing a representative sample of these liturgical songs performed by the Tempio Maggiore Choir of Rome, directed by Claudio Di Segni, with the participation of the cantor Rav Avraham Alberto Funaro and Angelo Spizzichino, organist of the Temple. The songs are presented in the original Hebrew text, translated and “accompanied” by biblical, liturgical and musical comments.
There are also transcripts of interviews with Rav Funaro, Maestro Di Segni and Maestro Spizzichino, which give us a better understanding of the function of the Chazan (cantor), the choirmaster and the organist during the daily prayers, the prayers of the festivals and the events that mark the history of the Roman Jewish community.
In the second volume, these liturgical chants and their performers will be further documented. The biographies of the choirmasters of the Tempio Maggiore will be presented, as well as an index of the most performed chants, with their context of performance in the cycle of the liturgical year. There will also be “historical” and contemporary recordings. There will be photographs of the Choir and of some of the events and concerts in which it has participated, a presentation of the Temple organ and a first survey of the presence or absence of organs or harmoniums in the main Italian synagogues. The whole will be accompanied by an important bibliography and an “atlas” of more than four hundred liturgical, biblical, musical, ritual and cultural terms which will enable us to understand and enhance the heritage of Jewish liturgical songs, especially those of Rome.
Browse the archives from Pasquale Troìa
| 1 | Pasquale Troìa is Professor of Bible and Music at the ISSR Mater Ecclesiae and at the Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum, Rome. |
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