Trasuntino, Trasontini, Trasuntinus, Trazentinus, de Trasuntinis, Italian builders of harpsichords, clavichords, regals, and organs, whose family relationships are difficult to determine, active in Venice in the 16th and 17th centuries. The most important representatives include Alessandro (*ca. 1485 Bergamo, †ca. 1545) and Vito (Vitus, Vido, Guido, *1526 Treviso, †after 1606). Alessandro, known as Alessandro da gli organi and recorded in Venice as early as 1507, was a highly regarded organ builder, but none of the organs he built have survived; it is known, however, that in 1542 he made an organ for the papal chamber in the Vatican, and a year later he restored the organs in the Church of St Nicholas in Venice and in the Treviso Cathedral. Six harpsichords bearing his name have survived, but only three, dated 1530, 1531 and 1538, are considered authentic (preserved in Siena, London, and Brussels). They represent the Venetian style of harpsichord construction, with 8′ and 4′ stops and a four-octave compass with a short octave; later (even in the 18th century), they underwent various modifications. Preserved documents show that Alessandro also built harpsichords for Ercole II d’Este, Duke of Ferrara. Vito, whose family name was Frassoni or Frassonio, is recorded in Venice from 1543; he took his new name from Alessandro Trasuntino, under whom he probably served an apprenticeship. He maintained contacts with musicians and instrument makers, as well as representatives of the Venetian elite (Thomaso Garzoni, Leonardo Fioravanti), who spoke very highly of him. The number of instruments he built is uncertain; only three harpsichords from 1560, 1572, and 1591 (preserved in Berlin, Brussels and London) have been confirmed as authentic, including one capable of producing 19 notes per octave. All have a single manual with four-octave compass (including a short octave), an 8′ and 4′ stop or two 8′ stops, and a compass of C/E–f 3 (or G1/B1–c3). The harpsichord preserved in Bologna, called clavemusicum omnitonum, built in 1606 for Camillo Gonzaga, also single-manual, has black keys divided into four parts, allowing a total of 31 notes per octave. It resembles the archicembalo from N. Vicentino’s treatise (L’antica musica ridotta alla prattica moderna, 1555), but was probably not modelled on it. The authorship of the other instruments signed by Vita, including clavichords, is disputed. No organs from his workshop have survived, but it is known that he repaired and evaluated instruments made by other builders.
Literature: R. Lunelli Der Orgelbau in Italien, Mainz 1956; R. Russell The Harpsichord and Clavichord, London 1959; J. Barnes The Specious Uniformity of Italian Harpsichords, in: Keyboard Instruments, ed. E.M. Ripin, Edinburgh 1971, 21977; D. Wraight Vincentius and the earliest harpsichords, “Early Music” XIV/4, 1986; C. Stembridge The Cimbalo Cromatico and Other Italian Keyboard Instruments with Ninteen or More Division to the Octave (Surviving Specimens and Documentary Evidence), “Performance Practice Review” VI/1, 1993; N. Mitchell The 1531 Trasuntino Harpsichord in a Universal European Pitch System, “Harpsichord & Fortepiano” IX/1, 2001; P. Bavington Two Trasuntino Harpsichord Copies, “Early Music” XXXII/2, 2004; P. Barbieri Enharmonic Instruments and Music 1470-1900, Latina 2008; G. Montanari Strumenti a corde a tastiera della Guardaroba medicea nel XVII secolo, “Informazione Organistica” XXI/22 and 23, 2009; M. di Pasquale Benedetto Floriani, Alessandro e Vito Trasuntino: Nova et vetera, “Informazione Organistica” XXIX/2, 2017; D. Wright The tuning of Trasuntino’s “Clavemusicum Omnitonum” and Zarlino’s enharmonic system, www.denzilwraight.com/Clavemusicum.pdf; Trasuntino, “Boalch-Mould Online”, https://boalch.org/instruments/makers.
