Gabrieli, Andrea and Giovanni

Gabrieli, Andrea and Giovanni

(born 1532/33, Venice—died Aug. 30, 1585, Venice) (born 1556?, Venice—died Aug. 12?, 1612, Venice) Venetian composers. Andrea worked at the Bavarian court in Munich and in 1564 became an organist at St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, where he remained the rest of his life. He wrote more than 200 madrigals and much other secular vocal music. His sacred vocal works, which number more than 150, include many splendid settings for church festivals; many were published posthumously in a collection called Concerti (1587). His nephew and student, Giovanni, joined him as organist at St. Mark's in 1584. Like Andrea, he wrote numerous festive works for choirs and instrumental groups. His best-known works are those for instruments, especially wind instruments (canzonas, ricercars, sonatas, toccatas, etc.), which employ dramatic dynamic and spatial effects. His student Heinrich Schütz conveyed the Venetian style to Germany.