Grove's dictionary of music and musicians

ROSSI KOSSI 149
Hebrew and Italian, in 1623. The authority
for his life is Birnbaum's JUdisehe Musiker am
JBofe zu Mantua. A selection from his vocal
music was published in 1877 by S. Naumburg
and Vincent d'Indy, and examples of his
instrumental music are included in Eiemann's
'Alte Kammermusik.' (2) Giovanni Battista,
a monk, born at Genoa, who published in
1618 at Venice a book on mensural notation,
Organo de cantori per intendere da se stesso
ognipasso difficile, etc., containing cantilene u,
2-5, and a book of four-part masses in the same
year.
(3) Michael Angelo, a Roman musician
of the earlier part of the 17th century, was a
pupil of Frescobaldi for organ-playing. He is
known as the composer of an opera entitled
'Erminia sul Giordano,' which in 1635 or
1637 (Fetis and Clement, Dictionnaire Lyrique,
erroneously give the date 1625) was performed
with all stage accessories in the Palace of Taddeo
Barberini, Prefect of Rome and Prince of Palestrina.
It was published in 1637, and dedicated
to the Signora Anna Colonna Barberina, the
Princess of Palestrina. A full account of the
opera, the libretto of which is based on an
episode in Tasso's GerusaZemme Liberata, is
given in H. Goldschmidt's Studien zur Geschichte
der ItalieniscJien Oper, with some specimens of
the music. Like most of the Roman Operas of
the period, the music would appear to be
utterly wanting in any dramatic power ; the
form of the drama is merely an excuse for scenic
decorations, and occasional graceful pastoral
music. Rossi is better known as a composer
for clavier. He published a collection of
Toccate e Correnti for organ or cembalo (second
edition, Rome, 1657, first edition without date).
These are now generally accessible in Torchi's
'
L'Arte Musicale in.Italia,' vol. iii. They are
modelled on the style of the pieces of the same
name by Frescobaldi, but show no advance either
in technique or treatment, though the Correnti
are melodious enough. Previous to this republication
by Torchi, there used to appear in
various modern collections of older music, such
as L. Kohler's 'Maitres du Clave9in,' Pauer's
'Alte Meister,' and others, an Andantino and
Allegro ascribed to Rossi, which have now been
proved to be spurious, their whole style showing
them to belong to the following century. Ernst
von Werra was the first to prove by examination
of the genuine works of Rossi previously unknown,
the anachronism of this attribution
(Monatsheftefur Mnsikgeschic/Ue, xxviii. pp. 123
S.). It would be interesting to know how
these two pieces came to be ascribed to M. A.
Rossi. J. K. M.
(4) LuiGl, born about the end of the 16th
century in Naples, was about 1620 in the
service of Cardinal Barberini in Rome as a
singer. Through Mazarin's influence he was
invited to Paris, where on March 2, 1647, his
Si.
opera, 'Le Mariage d'Orphfe et Euridice,' was
given, being the first Italian opera performed
in Paris. Five years before he had composed
a- dramatic work, 'II palagio d'Atlante,' to
words by G. Ruspiglosi (a copy in the Royal
College of Music has the title ' II Pallazzo incantato
'). Gevaert edited a selection of thirteen
cantatas by him. (5) Francesco, an Abbate,
a native of Apulia (Fetis gives Bari as his
birthplace), who brought out several operas in
Venice between 1686 and 1689, viz. ' II Sejano
moderno' (1686), 'La Clorilda' and 'La pena
degl' occhi' in 1688, and 'Mitrane' in 1689.
The last work contains the beautiful air, Ah ' !
rendimi quel core,' by which alone Rossi's name
is known in the present day. An oratorio,
'La Caduta dei Giganti,' is in MS. (6) Giuseppe,
was successively maestro di cappella at
the Castle of St. Angelo, Rome, Pistoia, and
San Loreto, Rome. He died in Rome about
1719. A mass in twelve parts, divided into
three choirs, and two settings of Dixit Dominus
for twelve and sixteen voices respectively, are
preserved at Bologna, where the latter are
ascribed to the later Giuseppe Rossi. (7)
Another Giuseppe was maestro in the cathedral
of Temi, and was the composer of an opera,
'La sposa in Livorno,' given in Rome in 1807.
He published a treatise, AUi intendenti di
conirappunto, in 1809, and several of his motets
are at Bologna. M.
There are, furthermore, three modem operacomposers
of the name :
(8) Lauro, born at
Macerata, Feb. 19, 1810, was a pupil of
Crescentini, Fumo, and Zingarelli at Naples.
He tegan to write at once, and at eighteen
had his first two operas— 'Le Contesse Villane'
and La ' Villana Contessa '— performed at the
Fenice and Nuovo Theatres of Naples respectively.
Other pieces followed : one of them,
'Costanza ed Oringaldo,' being written expressly
for the San Carlo at the request of Barbaja. On
the recommendation of Donizetti, Rossi was
engaged for the Teatro Valle at Rome, and there
he remained for 1832 and 1833, and composed
four operas and an oratorio. In 1834 he moved
to Milan, and brought out 'La Casa disabitata'
(or ' I falsi Monetari '), which, though but
moderately successful at the Seala, was afterwards
considered his cJief-d'oeuvre, and spoken of as
'Rossi's Barbiere di Siviglia.' It pleased
Malibran so much that she induced Barbaja to
bespeak another opera from Rossi for the San
Carlo, in which she should appear. The opera
was composed, and was named ' Amelia ' (produced
at Naples, Dec. 4, 1834) ; but owing to
her caprice was a failure. She insisted on
having a pas de deux inserted for her and
Mathis. The theatre was crowded to the
ceiling to see the great singer dance ; but her
dancing did not please the public, and the piece
was damned. This disappointment, though
somewhat alleviated by the success of his