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Andrea Gabrieli

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Andrea Gabrieli was an Italian composer and organist of the late Renaissance. He was probably born in Venice around 1532 or 1533 and died there on 30 August 1585. Little is known about his youth. He may have studied with Adrian Willaert at San Marco. In 1562 he travelled to Germany, to Frankfurt and Munich, where he became friends with Orlande de Lassus. That friendship strongly shaped his style. In 1566 he became organist of San Marco, one of the most famous musical posts in northern Italy, and he held that position until his death.

Music and breakthrough

Gabrieli wrote a great deal of music for ceremonial occasions, for example for the celebration of the victory at Lepanto in 1571 and for the visit of Japanese princes in 1585. He also composed the choruses for Sophocles' Oedipus tyrannus, for the opening of the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza. His work includes more than a hundred motets and madrigals, plus a smaller number of instrumental pieces. In San Marco he had groups of singers and instrumentalists answer one another in the enormous, resonant space. In doing so he broke with the strict polyphonic style that dominated the sixteenth century.

Influence

Gabrieli published little himself. His nephew Giovanni published much of his music after his death. As a teacher he had famous pupils, including Giovanni Gabrieli and Hans Leo Hassler, who brought the Venetian style to Germany. In this way he became the first internationally known composer of the Venetian school.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to a choral piece or a piece for brass by Andrea Gabrieli and notice how the sound is divided. Can you hear how different groups pass the melody to one another, as if they were standing in different places in the church?

Discography

Studio albums

Categories: Artists