MERULO (MERLOTTI), CLAUDIO. - Musician, b. at Correggio on 8 April 1533, d. at Parma on 4 May 1604. On 2 July 1557 he was appointed second organist at S. Marco in Venice, after having been organist at Brescia. In 1566 he succeeded A. Padovano as first organist; in 1586 he went to Parma as organist at the court of Ranuccio Farnese and at the church of the Steccata.
A composer of rich harmony, his works, especially the madrigals, are creations of incomparable beauty, while his instrumental music attains heights never reached by his predecessors through the fusion of thematic and colouristic elements. The 5 vols. of Madrigali a 3, 4, 5 voci were printed in Venice in 1566, 68, 79, 80, and 1604; likewise the 2 vols. of Messe (there 1573, 1609); and the 6 vols. of Mottetti e Sacrae cantiones (there 1578, 84, 93, 94, 95, and 1605).