Once started in a new direction, the Italians soon took from the hands of their Netherland masters the development of this branch of the art and native organists began to write copiously for their instrument. In addition to Venice, Rome, Florence, Naples, Bologna, Parma, and many other Italian cities boasted of excellent musicians and organists who worked earnestly and enthusiastically for the advancement of the art of organ music. They did not employ counterpoint merely for its own sake, as did many of the Netherland masters, but imagination and feeling were given consideration. Harmonically and melodically much progress was also made and chromatic tones were much more freely and frequently brought into use. The forms chiefly cultivated were those mentioned above. Brief mention will be made of the more famous of these early masters. Claudio Merulo (1533-1604) at the age of twenty-four was chosen out of ten competitors to fill the position of second organist at St. Mark’s in Venice, and from 1566 to 1586 he was first organist there. One of the greatest organists of his time, he is credited by Fétis with being the first to write really independent compositions for the organ. He wrote three volumes of _ricercari_ and _canzoni_ and two volumes of toccatas. His fame as composer rests chiefly on the fact that he advanced the toccata-form. His reputation was overshadowed by the greater genius of the two Gabrielis, who were associated with him at St. Mark’s. Andrea Gabrieli (1510-1586), a pupil of Willaert and the successor of Merulo as second organist at St. Mark’s in 1566, was one of the most eminent representatives of the brilliant Venetian school. He exerted a large influence not only as composer and performer, but also as teacher. Among his distinguished pupils were his nephew Giovanni and the German Hans Leo Hassler of Nuremberg. His organ works include chiefly _ricercari_, _canzoni_, and _intonazioni_. A characteristic work of his is the _Fantasia allegra_, founded on a popular French _chanson_ by Crequillon, which is quoted by Ritter in his _Geschichte des Orgelspiels_. It has three themes or subjects which are developed in the style of the _ricercare_. The second subject is a free ‘inversion’ of the first and the third is formed from the second by ‘diminution,’ with ornamentation in rapid passages.