Giovanni Priuli

A late member of the Venetian School, and a contemporary of Claudio Monteverdi, he was a prominent musician in Venice in the first decade of the 17th century, departing after the death of his associate Giovanni Gabrieli and ending his career at the Habsburg court in Austria.

When Priuli is first mentioned in the records of St. Mark's, he was already an experienced musician, being hired as assistant organist to Gabrieli on several occasions between 1600 and 1605.

In May 1607 he received a more permanent position as deputy organist; prior to that, the payment records indicated that his hires were for single engagements.

His masses include examples in the already archaic stile antico of the 16th century, akin to the music of Palestrina, as well as others in the developing concertato style which helped define the beginning of the Baroque era.

The number of parts ranges from five to twelve; some of the pieces use echo effects reminiscent of the repertory of the composers working in St. Mark's, where that style first developed.