ASOLA, GIOVANNI MATTEO. – Musician, b. in Verona c. 1560, d. in Venice 1 Oct. 1609. The scant biographical details are gathered from isolated indications in his own works: it is known only that he was of ecclesiastical status and in 1578 became maestro di cappella in Treviso and in 1581 in Vicenza. He was an exceptionally prolific composer of polyphonic works, from 4 to 12 voices, exclusively in religious style, partly published and partly unpublished; they include chiefly masses, motets, hymns, lamentations, reproaches, lauds and related forms. The quantity of printed works indicates the favour his music enjoyed among his contemporaries.
The author composed during the period of the Counter-Reformation and follows the post-Palestrina school, so that he rigorously adheres to the prescriptions of the Council of Trent, especially regarding the intelligibility of the religious text to be preserved in the musical composition. Carrying on his activity in northern Italy, the author was partly influenced by the Venetian school, and to a large extent adopted its tendency toward homophonic style as well as its taste for effective rhythmic-melodic declamation.