“ GABRIELI, GIOVANNI (1557–1612?) , Italian musical composer, was born at Venice in 1557, and was a pupil of his uncle Andrea, a distinguished musician of the contrapuntal school and organist of St Mark’s. He succeeded Claudio Merulo as first organist of the same church in 1585, and died at Venice either in 1612 or 1613. He was remarkable for his compositions for several choirs, writing frequently for 12 or 16 voices, and is important as an early experimenter in chromatic harmony. ”