Giovanni Gabrieli

After reading about Giovanni and listening to Dr. F's lecture about him, I have come to realize how important and influential he was to European religious musical activity and the dynamics of music today in general. He was the first to create contrast in sound in his musical pieces. By using multiple choruses, introducing piano and forte, and utilizing the divided choir Gabrieli created musical pieces that had contrast and made dramatic effects. He also made use of multiple instruments in solo and ensemble groups, creating even more texture in his pieces. Using these tactics led to music that no one had heard before. Gabrieli may not have been a painter who used contrasts of light and dark to produce an effect, but he "created coloristic contrasts in sound" to create his own dramatic effects (FRP 22). After learning that Gabrieli was the first to create music with multiple tones and contrasts in sound instead of monotone notes, I started to wonder if music today would be the same if he had not discovered these key strategies so long ago?