The work of Tomaso Cecchini is evidence of the presence of the latest musical developments on the Croatian side of the Adriatic at the beginning of the 17th century. This Italian composer, born, presumably, in the town of Soave near Verona around 1583, worked as maestro di cappella in two Croatian cathedrals, the one in Split and in Hvar. He first came to Split in 1603, working in the cathedral until 1607. After that, nothing is known about his activities, until 1613, when, presumably, at the invitation of the Archbishop of Split, Markantun de Dominis, he returned to serve in the Split cathedral. After Dominis' conflict with the Chapter and the local nobility and his departure from Split, Cecchini also left Split and went to Hvar, where he worked until his death in 1644. His extensive collection Psalmi, missa, et alia cantica provides a cross-section of his sacred work; was published in Venice in 1619, and the polyphonic style in the mass, psalms and motets ranges from that of the old masters, such as Palestrina, to fragments that show contemporary trends in vocal polyphony, characteristic of Venice in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Musica Adriatica is an ensemble that aims to promote, perform and revitalize music with roots on the Adriatic coast. It was founded in 2019 by conductor Sara Dodig Baučić, and its first published project is the collection of sacred motets Sacrae cantiones by the early Baroque Croatian composer Ivan Lukačić. They performed the collection in concert on the eve of the 400th anniversary of the first publication of the collection, in December 2019, at the Cathedral of St. Domnius.

PSALMS, MISSA, ET ALIA CANTICA QUINQUE VOCIBUS (1619)