L.A. Baroque Tries to Shine Light on Rossi

Though still somewhat obscure in the grand scheme of music, the Jewish Italian composer Salomone Rossi (circa 1570-1630) is becoming a rallying point for Jewish organizations and early music specialists. Hence, L.A. Baroque’s “Salomone Rossi and the Italian Baroque” program at the Skirball Cultural Center Thursday, where a few bits of Rossi were thrown together with six other Italians from the 17th and 18th centuries.

While the sequence loosely traced the evolution of the Italian Baroque, the most illuminating (but unintentional?) point was that the finest music came mostly from the composers we know best today. The Vivaldi Concerti for Recorder, Two Violins and Basso Continuo in A minor (RV 108) and for Flute, Violin and Basso Continuo in D (RV 84), and Alessandro Scarlatti’s Sonata for Recorder, Two Violins and Basso Continuo in F were far and away more inventive, songful and full of life than the selections by Cima, Frescobaldi, Roberto Valentini and even the four two violin sonatas of Rossi himself. The exception was the fascinating Sonata No. 7 for Recorder and Basso Continuo by Dario Castello (dates unknown), a piece twisted into strange shapes by quirky shifts in tempo.

In other words, history’s sorting-out process usually works.

The performances by the five-person delegation from L.A. Baroque were not the last word in polish, but they were certainly not stodgy, for these players were aware of the value of bracing rhythmic vigor, rubato and shafts of wit. Janet Beazley could be heard on alto and soprano recorders and transverse flute, Gregory Maldonado and Mark Zaki on violins, William Skeen on violoncello and Theodore Gillen on harpsichord. Alone, Gillen--replacing Edward Murray (who had a scheduling conflict)--played a Frescobaldi Capriccio and Canzona No. 1 with considerable freedom and expression.

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* L.A. Baroque performs more Rossi April 18, 4 p.m., Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda. $25. (310) 458-0425.