thumb|340px|san marco in the evening. the spacious, resonant interior was one of the inspirations for the music of the venetian school. in music history, the venetian school was the body and work of composers working in venice from about 1550 to around 1610. the venetian polychoral compositions of the late sixteenth century were among the most famous musical events in europe, and their influence on musical practice in other countries was enormous. the innovations introduced by the venetian school, along with the contemporary development of monody and opera in florence, together define the end of the musical renaissance and the beginning of the musical baroque. ==history== several major factors came together to create the venetian school. the first was political: after the death of pope leo x in 1521 and the sack of rome in 1527, the long dominant musical establishment in rome was eclipsed: many musicians either moved elsewhere or chose not to go to rome, and venice was one of several places to have an environment conducive to creativity.gangwere, p. 246. another factor, possibly the most important, was the existence of the splendid basilica san marco di venezia (commonly known as st. mark's), with its unique interior with opposing choir lofts. because of the spacious architecture of this basilica, it was necessary to develop a musical style which exploited the sound-delay to advantage, rather than fought against it: thus the venetian polychoral style was developed, the grand antiphonal style in which groups of singers and instruments played sometimes in opposition, and sometimes together, united by the sound of the organ. the first composer to make this effect famous was adrian willaert, who became maestro di cappella of st. mark's in 1527, and remained in the position until his death in 1562. gioseffo zarlino, one of the most influential writers on music of the age, called willaert "the new pythagoras," and willaert's influence was profound, not only as a composer but as a teacher, since most of the venetians who followed studied with him. yet another factor which promoted the rich period of musical creativity was printing. in the early 16th century, venice, prosperous and stable, had become an important center of music publishing; composers came from all parts of europe to benefit from the new technology, which then was only a few decades old. composers from northern europe&mdash;especially flanders and france&mdash;were already renowned as the most skilled composers in europe, and many of them came to venice. the international flavor of musical society in the city was to linger into the 17th century. in the 1560s, two distinct groups developed within the venetian school: a progressive group, led by baldassare donato, and a conservative group, led by zarlino who was then mae
1550s_establishments 1610s_disestablishments Baroque_music Composition_schools Culture_in_Venice Italian_music_history Renaissance_music