Theorist and singer. Although Italian by birth, he worked in Spain and (Spanish) Naples from 1592 until his death. He was in the royal chapels of Philip II and Philip III in Madrid. From 1603 he lived in Naples, employed first at the Church of SS. Annunziata, then, from 1610, in the royal chapel. Among his writings is an unusually long treatise in Spanish titled El melopeo y maestro(Naples, 1613). It reflects very conservative tastes and has sometimes been criticized for borrowings from other writers and for outright misinformation. It remains significant nevertheless and it strongly influenced Spanish theory during the 17th and 18th centuries.