Andrea Gabrieli

St. Mark's Basilica in Venice

Where Gabrieli would spend the majority of his career

Source:  Best Tourism

Born in Venice in 1532/33, Andrea Gabrieli greatly increased the influence of the Venetian school in European music apart from the dominance of the Franco-Flemish school throughout the Renaissance up to baroque counterpoint arriving in Italy. Andrea was uncle to the better-known Giovanni Gabrieli (1554/57-1612) and may well have studied under Adrian Willaert at St. Mark's in Venice alike his slightly earlier contemporary, Gioseffo Zarlino, who succeeded Cipriano de Rore as maestro di cappella at St. Mark's in 1565. Rore had inherited that position upon the death of Willaert on 7 December 1562. Though most of Gabrieli's works were not published until after his death his influence as a composer would exceed Zarlino's. Willaert, however, was a major master with a reputation, particularly with double choirs, not so easy to match. Which isn't to say that Zarlino wasn't a major influence on polychoral music. Both Willaert and Andrea used modal procedures that Zarlino formulated in his 1558 'Le istitutioni harmoniche'. He was only of temporary influence until wrestling methods in counterpoint during the latter Renaissance led to baroque. Andrea's nephew, Giovanni, who was not so beholden to Zarlino, employed methods more influential to baroque.

Among earliest references to Andrea Gabrieli is the publishing of one his madrigals in a book of madrigali printed by Giralamo Scotto in Venice in 1554. This book was devoted largely to madrigals a 5 by Vincenzo Ruffo called 'Li madrigali a cinque voci scielta seconda' which included Gabrieli's 'Piangete occhi miei lassi'.

In 1557 Gabrieli became an organist in Cannaregio. In 1562 he traveled to Frankfurt and Munich to work with Orlande de Lassus.

In 1565 Gabrieli's 'Missa brevis in F' for 4 and 5 parts was added to the 'BSB Mus. ms. 2746 Choirbook', a collection of ten masses compiled in Munich. Sometimes called simply 'Missa Brevis' in F major, it's not to be confused with his 'Missa brevis quatuor vocum' in F major published posthumously. Andrea's motet, 'O Sacrum Convivium' a 5, also saw ink in 1565 as No.14 of 'Sacrae cantiones quinque vocum, liber primus' printed by Antonio Gardano in Venice. The text of this Renaissance motet may have been written by Saint Thomas Aquinas sometime in the 13th century, addressing the key element of the Roman Catholic church service that is the Communion (Eucharist). As dates of composition are a deep dig for Andrea, titles below are stacked per publishing dates, including posthumous regardless of when composed. Some publications of Andrea include works by Giovanni as well.

'Missa brevis in F'   Short mass a 4 to 5 by Andrea Gabrieli

MS: 'BSB Mus. ms. 2746 Choirbook' of 10 masses by various c 1565

Choir Of St. John's College Cambridge directed by George Guest

'O Sacrum Convivium'   Motet a 5 by Andrea Gabrieli

Setting to text attributed to Saint Thomas Aquinas

No.14 of 'Sacrae cantiones quinque vocum, liber primus' of 1565

Gabrieli Consort & Players directed by Paul McCreesh

In 1566 Gabrieli became organist at St. Mark's in Venice, a position he held, while teaching, to the end of his life nigh twenty years later. Gabrielli's 'Domine ne in furore' is a setting a 6 for 'Psalm 6' published in 'Psalmi Davidici qui poenitentiales nuncupantur' in Venice in 1583 containing seven Penitential Psalms so organized by Cassiodorus in the 6th century.

'Domine ne in furore'   Setting a 6 for 'Psalm 6' by Andrea Gabrieli

'Lord, rebuke me not'

No.1 of 'Psalmi Davidici qui poenitentiales nuncupantur'   Venice   1583

Serikon directed by Dominy Clements   Album: 'Acqua Alta'   2013

Gabrieli's 'Magnificat à 12' didn't see publishing until after his death in 'Concerti' of 1587 by Angelo Gardano Press containing 66 pieces in two volumes [IMSLP] numbered to 77 at CPDL [refs below].

'Magnificat à 12'   Evening canticle by Andrea Gabrieli

Pub posthumously in Libro 1 of 'Concerti' by Angelo Gardano Press   1587

Chanticleer   Album: 'Out of This World'   1994

During the prior thousand years of music grouped under classical (commencing with the Eastern Orthodox Church but not including the earlier Greeks) composing for voice had dominated musical works. Around Andrea's period instruments saw elevation above their usually supportive role to employment in instrumentals in their own right. Gabrieli's 'Battaglia' is an instrumental aria for 8 wind instruments not published until after his death in 'Concerti' of 1587. This is a battaglia in the tradition of Janequin's 'La Guerre' or 'La Bataille' published in 1529 commencing a program music commemorating military victories which musical thrust was the depiction of action in battle by various means (fanfares, cries, drum rolls or vocal imitations thereat and eventually baroque counterpoint).

'Battaglia'   Instrumental for 8 winds by Andrea Gabrieli

Pub posthumously in Libro 2 of 'Concerti' by Angelo Gardano Press   1587

Symposium Musicum directed by Miloslav Klement

Of primary interest with Gabrieli are his ricercars and toccatas. The ricercar was a free approach to music alike a fancy or prelude in which a piece improvisationally figures itself out, like finding a key, mode or motif in which to continue. Experimental preludes would become finished exercises (etudes) in themselves and ricercars would assume fugue form. Toccatas began as brief displays of virtuosity, also developing into baroque fugues.

'Ricercar del sesto tono'   Ricercar a 4 by Andrea Gabrieli

Pub posthumously in 'Madrigali et ricercari' of 1589

Organ: Fabio Framba

'Toccata del nono tono'   Toccata by Andrea Gabrieli

Pub posthumously in 'Intonationi d'organo livre primo' containing 30 intonationi and 4 toccatas

Gardano   1593

Organ: Massimiliano Raschietti

'Ricercar del primo tono'   Ricercar by Andrea Gabrieli

Pub posthumously in 'Ricercari libro secondo' by Angelo Gardano in Venice 1595

Organ: Liuwe Tamminga

Gabrieli composed a fugue titled 'Fuga a 4' ('Fuga Quarta') published in 1606. Wanting a sample of that at YouTube, one of a few fugues by his nephew here substitutes. I've not identified a publishing date for Giovanni's 'Fuga del nono tono' for keyboard perhaps written in the latter 16th century, but it is found for harpsichord in 'Early Italian keyboard music' published by Oxford University Press in 1968. Continuing with organ for sake of comparison, a version on that instrument is performed by Christopher Hogwood below, completing this partial glance at the musical climate in Italy as the late Renaissance began shifting toward baroque.

'Fuga del nono tono'   Fugue by Giovanni Gabrieli

Publisher unidentified until 1968

Organ: Christopher Hogwood

Andrea Gabrieli died in Venice on 30 Aug 1585 as winds of contrapuntal battle between composers were beginning to blow. Wikipedia has baroque composition arriving in 1580 to continue for another 170 years, among which the earliest was Giovanni a generation younger than Andrea.

Archivi del Rinascimento