Vido Trasuntino

There is little documented information on Vido Trasuntino. It is known, however, that Trasuntino was based in Venice, Italy throughout his life, which spanned from approximately 1522 until 1606. Along with Giovanni Antonio Baffo (1523 – 1581) and Domenico da Pesaro (ca. 1500 – 1548), Trasuntino is regarded as one of the most important instrument builders in sixteenth-century Venice, lauded both for his harpsichords and organs. Both Trasuntino and Pesaro are particularly noted for their expertise in and contributions to the construction of enharmonic harpsichords, which expand beyond the twelve-tone octave to accommodate just intoned tuning systems. Trasuntino is known to have worked within a Venetian organ and string-keyboard building workshop, alongside Alessandro Trasuntino (ca. 1485 – ca. 1545). Three instruments produced by Alessandro remain extant, including the oldest known Venetian harpsichord from 1530, a harpsichord from 1531 now housed within the Royal College of Music in London, and a harpsichord from 1538 now housed at the Brussels Conservatory. Vido Trasuntino, whose first name has also appeared in variants such as Vito, Guido, and Giulio, was likely born with the surname Frassonio, adopting the Trasuntino name for professional reasons. Among the remaining instruments that can be attributed to him with certainty (i.e. are not forgeries) are a harpsichord from 1560 now housed at the Musikinstrumenten-Museum in Berlin, a harpsichord from 1572 housed within a private collection, and the National Music Centre’s artifact, a harpsichord from 1591. An enharmonic harpsichord constructed by Trasuntino in 1606, known as the Clavemusicum Omnitonum, is currently housed within the Museo Civico Medievale in Bologna, Italy; this instrument divides the octave into nineteen notes.