TRISSINA, Alba

Alba Trissina (or Tressina), a nun, spent her life at the rich monastery of Santa Maria in Aracoeli in Vicenza where she was an abbess from 1636-1638. As a musician, she is best known for the nobility of her compositions and the expressive manner with which she performed her music. At Santa Maria, she studied with Leone Leoni, a popular priest and composer who was known for his skill at setting text to music.

Trissina’s four known compositions, all motets, are included in Leoni’s Sacri fiori: libro quarto de motetti a 1–4 (Venice, 1622); all are for alto voice. Her most notable and performed work is titled Vulnerasti cor meum which uses the Song of Songs scripture. This text was not normally used during mass which suggests the motet might have been sung in the parlor of the monastery rather than in the church itself.