Adriano Banchieri

Italian composer, music theorist, organist and poet Adriano Banchieri was born Tommaso Banchieri in Bologna on 3 September 1568. He became a Benedictine monk. One of his monastic teachers, Gioseffo Guami, had a big influence on his musical style. He spent much of his life at the monastery of San Michele in Bosco, near Bologna, eventually becoming the monastery's abbot.

Banchieri was one of the developers of 'Madrigal comedy' form, writing several madrigal comedies with plot and character development, and he was an important composer of canzonettas. He also published a series of organ works, l'Organo suonarino.

He died in Bologna in 1634.