Giovanni Gabrieli was organist and composer at St. Mark's in Venice for nearly 30 years, following his uncle and teacher Andrea Gabrieli. Gabrieli took advantage of the cathedral to write music for groups of voices and/or instruments that would respond to each other and resound through the space during services. His Sacrae Symphonie collections of these choral motets and brass canzonas, plus his contrapuntal organ works, are the pinnacle of the Venetian School and Renaissance music and influenced not only Italian composers, but Heinrich Schütz and others in Germany.