Andrea Gabrieli (c. 1520-1586); ITA

Andrea Gabrieli (c. 1532/33–1585) was born in Venice and became one of the leading composers and organists of the late Renaissance. Little is known of his early training, but by the 1560s he had traveled north of Italy and encountered important European musical centers, including Munich, where he came into contact with Orlando di Lasso. In 1566 Gabrieli was appointed organist at St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, whose unusual architecture and distinguished musical establishment provided an ideal setting for his developing interest in spatially contrasted ensembles. He remained at St. Mark’s until his death and was an important teacher, most notably of his nephew Giovanni Gabrieli and the German composer Hans Leo Hassler.

Gabrieli composed sacred and secular vocal music as well as instrumental works, and his music helped establish the sumptuous Venetian style that flourished at St. Mark’s. His polychoral works exploit the physical separation of performers to create antiphonal exchanges and brilliant contrasts of sonority, while his madrigals reveal both contrapuntal skill and sensitivity to text. Collections such as Sacrae cantiones and the posthumously published Concerti di Andrea, et di Gio. Gabrieli document his importance in the transition from Renaissance polyphony toward the more dramatic, coloristic language of the early Baroque. His influence spread well beyond Venice through pupils and visiting musicians from northern Europe.

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