Synagogue Songlines: Jewish-Christian musical encounters in 17th and 18th-century Italy

Francesco Spagnolo, PhD

Lecture: Synagogue Songlines
Jewish-Christian musical encounters in 17th and 18th-century Italy

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the synagogues of the Italian Jewish ghettos of Venice, Mantua, Casale Monferrato, and Siena were the sites of musical performances that included sacred Hebrew texts set to music by Jewish and non-Jewish composers. The rise of art music in the Italian synagogues has been historically understood as a testimony to Jewish modernity, as a Jewish reaction to ghettoization, and as the birth of a Jewish musical aesthetics. By looking at Gentile involvement in Italian synagogue life, this lecture presents these important musical sources in an entirely new light.

Francesco Spagnolo is the Curator of The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life and teaches in the Music Department at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the editor of Italian Jewish Musical Traditions (Rome-Jerusalem, 2006) and the co-author of The Jewish World (Rizzoli, 2014).

This lecture is presented by Salon/Sanctuary Concerts in partnership with The Temple Emanu-El Skirball Center for making this event possible.

Tickets for the lecture are $25, $15 for students, seniors, and members of EMA and are available on the Salon/Sanctuary website. This event is free to members of Temple Emanu-El.











When: Mon., Oct. 27, 2014 - Tue., Oct. 28, 2014 at 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Where: Temple Emanu-El
1 E. 65th St.
888-718-4253
Price: $25/$15/ Free to members of Temple Emanu-El
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Francesco Spagnolo, PhD

Lecture: Synagogue Songlines
Jewish-Christian musical encounters in 17th and 18th-century Italy

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the synagogues of the Italian Jewish ghettos of Venice, Mantua, Casale Monferrato, and Siena were the sites of musical performances that included sacred Hebrew texts set to music by Jewish and non-Jewish composers. The rise of art music in the Italian synagogues has been historically understood as a testimony to Jewish modernity, as a Jewish reaction to ghettoization, and as the birth of a Jewish musical aesthetics. By looking at Gentile involvement in Italian synagogue life, this lecture presents these important musical sources in an entirely new light.

Francesco Spagnolo is the Curator of The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life and teaches in the Music Department at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the editor of Italian Jewish Musical Traditions (Rome-Jerusalem, 2006) and the co-author of The Jewish World (Rizzoli, 2014).

This lecture is presented by Salon/Sanctuary Concerts in partnership with The Temple Emanu-El Skirball Center for making this event possible.

Tickets for the lecture are $25, $15 for students, seniors, and members of EMA and are available on the Salon/Sanctuary website. This event is free to members of Temple Emanu-El.

Buy tickets/get more info now