Giovanni Gabrieli was a noted Italian composer and organist of the late Renaissance, and a prominent member of the progressive group of composers within the Venetian School. Development of the Venetian School reached its zenith during the 1580s when Giovanni and his uncle Andrea Gabrieli produced numerous works for multiple choirs, groups of brass and string instruments, and organ. Dynamics in music notation were used for the first time in these works, which are also considered among the first ones that included specific instructions for ensemble instrumentation. One of the most influential musicians of his time, Giovanni served as principal organist and composer at the prestigious St Mark's Basilica, and as organist at the Scuola Grande di San Rocco. A master of the Venetian polychoral style with a rich oeuvre of brilliant compositions, Giovanni rose to prominence as an eminent composer in Europe, discernable from his influential volume Sacrae symphoniae that led several composers from across Europe, particularly from Germany, to come and study in Venice. His famous piece Sonata pian' e forte, an example of the Venetian polychoral style, was one of the earliest known compositions that specified loud and quiet passages in print. Another masterpiece of the composer, In Ecclesiis, a fine example of the virtuoso’s use of the polychoral techniques, epitomizes Baroque and Renaissance styles.