The earliest of the Italians to achieve notable success in madrigal-writing was the Roman, Constanzo Festa (died 1545). One of his madrigals, ‘Down in a flowery vale’ (_Quando ritrovo la mia pastorella_), attained the distinction of being for a long time the most widely-known piece of its class in England. Palestrina showed his supreme command over all styles by freeing the madrigal from Flemish influences and contributing in goodly measure to the literature of this fascinating form. Among them are many _madrigali spirituali_--compositions midway in seriousness between the motet and the light _chanson_, which aimed to bring into church music more of the warmth and grace of the best secular music. In the new style of madrigal-writing Palestrina was followed with splendid results by his successor in office as ‘composer to the Papal Choir,’ Felice Anerio, by Francesco Anerio, brother of the preceding, by the Naninis, and, in particular, by Luca Marenzio (about 1560-1599), who devoted himself especially to the advancement of secular art and whose madrigals were of such captivating beauty and expressive power that he earned for himself the title of ‘the sweetest swan of Italy.’ His reputation was far-extended and his popularity[39] in England was so great that Dr. Burney not only places him among the greatest of all madrigal writers, but traces the passion for this form of secular music that spread over England beginning about 1590, directly to the wide appreciation of his highly-perfected madrigal style.