1597

In Venice, Giovanni Gabrieli writes his first volume of Sacrae symphoniae, which utilizes brass extensively. Included in the volume is Sonata pian e forte, one of the earliest large-ensemble works to indicate specific instrumentation and dynamics. According to musicologist David Schulenberg, “the most important instruments in this music [Venetian polychoral works]—after the organ, which furnished the basso continuo—were the cornetto and the sackbut.”