Martinengo is principally famous as the successor to Giovanni Croce, and predecessor to Claudio Monteverdi, to the post of maestro di cappella at San Marco in Venice, which was by far the most prestigious post in northern Italy.
Martinengo's tenure was a failure; he was sick most of the time, and the standards of the choir and instrumentalists slipped badly, according to contemporary accounts.
Martinengo lacked the ability to manage the finances; according to the records of San Marco, he continually asked for advances on his salary, he was unable to pay the basilica's creditors, and on his death he still owed the treasurer his back salary for several months.
He died only four years after his appointment, and the basilica authorities were much relieved to be able to hire Claudio Monteverdi, who restored the musical establishment at San Marco to the magnificence it had lost.
One motet, Regnum mundi, is in the progressive concertato style, similar to contemporary works by Lodovico Grossi da Viadana.