Doron Schleifer - Countertenor
Roman Melish - Countertenor
Lior Leibovici - Tenor
Jacob Lawrence - Tenor
Loïc Paulin - Tenor
Elam Rotem - Bass, Harpsichord & musical direction
Ori Harmelin - Chitarrone
Members of the Ensemble will introduce and discuss the story and music of Salomone Rossi, a Jewish musician who was highly appreciated in early 17th century Italy at a time when Jews were mostly segregated and marginalized. Alongside Rossi's work and publications as a secular composer of madrigals and instrumental music, he also tried to create a new genre of Jewish music for the Synagogue using the standard Western musical language, and was the first to print music in Hebrew: Hashirim asher lish'lomo, 1622, Venice.
Biography
Profeti della Quinta (Prophets of the Perfect Fifth) is a male vocal ensemble specializing in the music of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Founded in the Galilee region of Israel by Elam Rotem, the ensemble is currently based in Basel, Switzerland, where its members undertook advanced studies at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.
In 2009, the ensemble released its first CD of Hebrew music by Salamone Rossi. In summer 2011 the ensemble won the York Early Music International Young Artists competition at the (NCEM), propelling its international career. In the same year, the ensemble made its debut at the Utrecht Oude Muziek festival and took part in a documentary film about Salomone Rossi, directed by Joseph Rochlitz and filmed in Rossi's hometown of Mantua, Italy. The ensemble has since performed in prestigious festivals and venues in Europe, such as the Konzerthaus Berlin, Printemps des Arts in Nantes, Handel Festival Göttingen, Rheingau Musik Festival, York early music Festival and the Festtage Alte Musik Basel. Further concerts have taken the ensemble to Israel, Finland, Poland, Belgium, Austria, Italy and other European countries. In 2013 the ensemble made its debut in Canada, followed by concert tours in Japan and USA. Concerts by the ensemble were broadcast by major classical radio stations, such as BBC3, France Musique and DRS2 Switzerland.
In addition to the Hebrew and Italian music of Salomone Rossi, ensemble Profeti della Quinta has performed the Lamentations by Emilio de' Cavalieri, as well as programs dedicated to the Italian Madrigal repertoire. Among the special ventures of the ensemble is the biblical drama Rappresentatione di Giuseppe e i suoi fratelli (Joseph and his Brethren), composed by Elam Rotem, which was performed in Israel and Switzerland and released on CD by Pan Classics in 2014. The ensemble has cooperated with leading figures in the field of early music, such as Andreas Scholl and Skip Sempe, and instrumental groups such as Lautten Compagney Berlin, Accademia Daniel, the Jerusalem Baroque Orchestra, Dolce Risonanza and Capriccio Stravagante.