Andrea Gabrieli

Recent research places Andrea Gabrieli’s birth in Venice around 1532. He was very much a Venetian and was a major influence in the ascendancy of Venice as the center of European music by 1600. In the early 1560s Gabrieli spent time in Germany especially at the Court of Albrecht V of Bavaria, where he absorbed much of the style and technique of the maestro there, Orlandus Lassus. In 1566 Andrea Gabrieli was successful in competing for the post of 2nd organist at the Cathedral of San Marco, Venice, with virtuoso Claudio Merulo holding 1st organ position.
Andrea Gabrieli was an extremely prolific composer writing motets and mass settings for San Marco and the city state of Venice, he also wrote over 300 secular vocal works. He established the forms of ricercar and canzona for both instrumental ensemble and keyboard. Most of his pieces were written for more than 4 voices/instruments and he established the practice of ‘cori spezzati’ with as many as 4 choirs of voices and instruments performing in the balconies of San Marco.
By the 1580s musicians were coming to Venice from all over Europe to study with Gabrieli, one of the most notable being Hans Leo Hassler from Germany; one of his students was his nephew, Giovanni Gabrieli, who eventually became an even more famous leader of the Venetian School centered at San Marco.
Andrea managed to accomplish all this in 52 years, dying in 1586. Perhaps the most important publication of his music came after his death when Angelo Gardano printed ‘Concerti’ in 1587, which contains works by both Andrea and Giovanni. The articles in the ‘New Grove’ by Denis and Elsie M. Arnold on both Gabrielis are a most valuable resource.