Camilla de Rossi

Camilla de Rossi (fl. 1670–1710) was an Italian composer known for her oratorios composed in Vienna during the early 1700s. She is recognized for having the most surviving works of any female composer from Northern Italy and Austria during the Baroque period. Her compositions reflect the style of the time, characterized by intricate vocal lines and emotional depth.

Several of De Rossi's oratorios were composed for performance at the Vienna court. Her legacy is notable for the rarity of women composing during the Baroque era, a time when most women composers were marginalized

Biography Born in the late 17th century, De Rossi likely had Roman citizenship, as she signed the title pages of her manuscripts as Romana, meaning 'a woman of Roman descent'. Rossi composed four oratorios for solo voices and orchestra, all of which were commissioned by Emperor Joseph I of Austria and were performed in the Imperial Chapel in Vienna.

List of works Oratorios, for solo voices, orchestra (MSS incl. some libs and orch pts in A-Wm; arias ed. B.G. Jackson in Arias from Oratorios by Women Composers of the Eighteenth Century, Fayetteville, AR, 1987–99): Santa Beatrice d'Este (Benedetto Pamphili), 1707 Il sacrifizio di Abramo (F. Dario), 1708 Il figliuol prodigo (C. de Rossi),1709 Sant'Alessio, 1710 Frà Dori, e Fileno (cant.), S, A, str orch, D-Dl, ed. B.G. Jackson (Fayetteville, 1983)

Discography Rossi, Camilla de: Sinfonia [with lute] from "Il Sacrifizio di Abramo, Perf. Terrie Baune, Judith Nelson and the Bay Area Women's Philharmonic. Providence, Rhode Island. Newport Classic, 1990 Oratorio "Sant'Alessio", perf. Ensemble Musica Fiorita, Daniela Dolci, director (soloists Graham Pushee, countertenor; Rosa Dominguez, soprano; Agnieszka Kowalezyk, soprano; William Lombardi, tenor), pan classics 510 136, 2001 "Il Sacrifizio di Abramo", Weser-Renaissance, Manfred Cordes, conductor (Soloists Susanna Rydén, soprano; Rolf Popken, alto; Jon Strömberg, tenor), Classic Produktion Osnabrück, cpo 999 3712, 1996 Santa Beatrice d'Este, Musica Fiorita; Daniela Dolci, conductor; (Soloists Graciella Oddone: Santa Beatrice, soprano; Denis Lakey: countertenor), ORF Edition Alte Musik, CD 3092