Italian city in the Veneto region. Musical life in Treviso developed during the 13th and 14th centuries, when Italian and Provençal troubadours, fleeing from hostile political conditions, chose the district of Treviso as their centre. Among them were Uc de Saint Circ and Sordello, who settled for a time with the Da Romano family. The Ars Nova reached Treviso through the growing frequency of contacts between Florence and the cities of the Veneto. Nicolò de Rossi, a magistrate living in Treviso in the first half of the 14th century, confirmed the strong influence of Tuscan poetry, and the music associated with it, on the region; in one of his sonnets he mentioned about 20 composers, nearly all Tuscan.
The cathedral choir, which developed from an earlier choir school during the first half of the 14th century, provided a firm basis for the musical life of the city. A document of 1363 refers to an organ in the cathedral; a new organ was installed in 1483, and was itself replaced in 1773 by another, constructed by Callido. During the 14th century sacre rappresentazioni took place in the cathedral on the feasts of the Annunciation and of St Liberalis, patron saint of Treviso. A powerful impetus was given to the choir in 1437, when the bishop, Lodovico Barbo, allotted part of the revenue from the Ospedale di S Giacomo del Schirial for the maintenance of 12 clerical singers. Flemish musicians were active in Treviso during the 15th century, as a result of cultural links with nearby Venice; the first Flemish cantore and maestro di canto to work at the cathedral was Nicolaus Simonis of Liège (1411–12). From 1412 to 1460 both Italian (from Venice, Rome and Mantua) and Flemish cantori were employed. In 1463 the Flemish-born Gerardo di Lisa, an important figure in the cultural life of Treviso, was appointed cantore. He was responsible for the introduction of printing in Treviso, and published an edition of an early musical dictionary, Terminorum musicae diffinitorium by Tinctoris.
During the 16th century the choir reached its peak through the efforts of its excellent directors and the efficiency of its cantori (among them Zanin Bisan), though the war against the League of Cambrai (1509–13) reduced its activities. The Flemish director Jan Nasco (1551–61) was succeeded by several other worthy maestri di cappella: Barges (also Flemish, 1562–5), Chamaterò (1565–7), Pietr’Antonio Spalenza (1573–7), Asola (1577–8) and, at the end of the century, Clinio (1584–5, 1592–7 and 1599–1601) and Giorgio Florio (1588–9). As early as 1521 the practice of cori spezzati, introduced to the city by Francesco Santa Croce (cathedral maestro 1520–27 and 1537–51), was in regular use. At the same time secular music became more widespread, and in 1552 a group of six players of ‘Lire e lironi’ was formed to give concerts.
With the development of the Baroque style during the early 17th century, the supremacy of Italian choirs began to decline. The maestri at Treviso at this time were relatively obscure figures: G. Kreysello (1603–5), P. de Cavalieri (1605–6), Antonio da Bologna (1608–13), Amadio Freddi (1615–26) and Giovanni Moroni (1628–33). The cathedral chapter suspended the choir’s activities in 1633 because of a lack of funds for its maintenance. Archives relating to the choir, which contained many manuscripts of Gregorian chant, were largely destroyed by bombing in 1944.
During the 17th century the first theatres opened in Treviso. The earliest was one near S Margherita belonging to the Bensi-Zecchini family; it functioned from 1678 to about 1693. Another theatre, the property of Count Onigo, opened in 1692; it was in use until 1714, when performances were suspended until Count Guglielmo d’Onigo had the theatre rebuilt in 1765. It reopened the following year with a performance of Caldara’s Demofoonte. While the Teatro Onigo was closed the Dolfin family built a very small theatre (1721), which survived into the 20th century. In the 18th and early 19th centuries these two theatres were the focal points of the city’s musical life. In 1844 Count Onigo ceded the management of his theatre to an association of box-holders, and it became the Teatro Sociale; in 1868 it was burnt down. The theatre was rebuilt and opened in 1869 with a production of Gounod’s Faust.
In 1931 the Teatro Sociale became the property of the municipality of Treviso and was renamed the Teatro Comunale, and it is now the city’s only concert hall, although the churches of S Nicolò and of S Francesco are used for chamber music recitals. Every autumn the Teatro Comunale promotes a season of music, the Autunno Trevigiano, which has featured important premières, including Malipiero’s Il marescaclo (1969) and Bussotti’s La rarità, potente (1979); each June it organizes an international singing competition. During November, a national competition for pianists and piano compositions is held. Two large choral associations are active in the city: the chorus formed for the autumn music festival, and the cathedral choir.
GroveO (L. Zoppelli)
G. d’Alessi: Organo e organisti della cattedrale di Treviso (1361–1642) (Vedelago, 1929)
G. d’Alessi: ‘I manoscritti musicali del secolo XVI del duomo di Treviso’, AcM, iii (1931), 148–55
G. d’Alessi: ‘Maestri e cantori fiamminghi nella cappella musicale del duomo di Treviso (1411–1561)’, TVNM, xv/3 (1938), 147–65
G. d’Alessi: La cappella musicale del duomo di Treviso (1300–1633) (Vedelago, 1954)
Cronistoria lirica del Teatro sociale di Treviso dal 1869 al 1954 (Treviso, 1954)
B.J. Blackburn: Music for Treviso Cathedral in the Late Sixteenth Century: a Reconstruction of the Lost Manuscripts 29 and 30 (London, 1987)
F. Ferrarese and C. Gallo: Il fondo musicale della Biblioteca Capitolare del Duomo di Treviso (Rome, 1990)
D. Bryant and M. Pozzobon: Musica devozione città: la Scuola di Santa Maria dei Battuti (e un suo manoscritto musicale) nella Treviso del Rinascimento (Treviso, 1995)
FRANCESCO VALLERANI/R