HaShirim Asher LiShlomo, anthology of musical notation of prayers and psalms recited in prayer, in bass, by Salamone Rossi (Min HaAdumim). Venice: Giovanni Calleoni for Pietro and Lorenzo Bragadin, 1622. First edition.

First edition, exceptionally rare, of the earliest work on Jewish liturgy, including polyphonic musical notation for prayers and liturgy.

The anthology of tunes was printed in eight different booklets, each meant for one of eight different voice types: canto, alto, tenor, bass, quinto, sesto, settimo and ottavo. The present booklet is the one printed for the low bass voice type.

The first six leaves of each booklet are identical, apart from the word on the title page specifying the voice type. These leaves include a printed dedication by the author to R. Moshe Sulam; two (anonymous) poems in praise of the book; a preface by R. Yehudah Aryeh of Modena, and another poem in praise of the book by him; a halachic ruling on polyphonic singing in the synagogue, by R. Yehudah Aryeh of Modena, and approbations to the ruling he received from several rabbis (this ruling with its approbations was also included in his responsa Ziknei Yehudah). Afterwards appears a warning not to reprint the book, due to the high printing expenses of the author, who was "the first person to print Hebrew music", signed by several rabbis.

The identical front matter is followed by different pages in each booklet for each voice type, with a varying number of pages in each booklet. Some songs are meant for a limited vocal range, and do not appear in each booklet. The present booklet contains 27 tunes (all eight booklets comprise 33 different tunes).

All of the tunes were composed for various parts of the liturgy (most for Tehillim), for choirs of four to eight voices (nearly all songs composed for three voices are not included in the present booklet). The words of the songs are printed in Hebrew under the musical notation, from left to right. The compositions include Kedushah (Keter); Ein KEloheinu, Yigdal, Adon Olam, Tehillim 80, 137, 100, 121, 29, 92; and many more.

The author,
Salamone Rossi (also known by his Hebrew name, Shlomo Min HaAdumim; ca. 1570-1630), was a Jewish violinist and composer active in Mantua in the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. Rossi was known from his youth as a gifted violinist, and he performed for the royal family and other nobles. He gained fame as a composer of both contemporary Italian music as well as Jewish music. His first work was published in 1589, comprising short dance-like tunes for a trio, with simple lyrics. Alongside his lighthearted music, Rossi also authored serious and heavy works, and is known as a groundbreaking composer in instrumental music. The present work is regarded as is most important work, as an early and highly important documentation of Jewish polyphony. Rossi's work was almost forgotten over the course of time, and only in 1876 did the Jewish-French composer Samuel Naumbourg publish it in a second edition, comprising thirty of Rossi's compositions.

On last page, chart of psalms and songs.

6 leaves; 7-37, [1] pages. 25 cm. Overall good condition. Stains. Light wear. Small open tear to second leaf, affecting text. Leaves and gatherings loose and partly detached. Early cardboard binding, with defects.

Exceptionally rare. Documented in the Bibliography of the Hebrew Book based on a photocopy of a copy in the National Library of Paris (the only extant complete copy of all eight booklets).

On the book and its author, see:

• Don Harrán, Salamone Rossi, Jewish Musician in Late Renaissance Mantua, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.

• Shlomo Simonsohn, History of the Jews in the Duchy of Mantua, II, Jerusalem 1965, pp. 490-493 (Hebrew). Facsimile of title page of canto booklet on p. 492.

For a detailed description of all eight booklets, based on the only complete copy, see:

• Israel Adler, Le livre hébraïque, incunables, publications israéliennes : exposition organisée avec le concours de la Bibliothèque nationale, Paris, 1962, pp. 111-113.