Italian composer. Named organist at S. Maria Maggiore, Bergamo, in 1645, becoming chaplain there in 1651; appointed maestro di cappellaat the Accademia dello Spirito Santo, Ferrara, in 1656, remaining until about 1665 and coming under the influential patronage of Hippolito Bentivoglio there; his first dramatic works date from this period. He failed in attempts to gain posts at Vienna (1665), Milan (1669), Parma (1670), and Bologna (1671), and was forced to turn down an offer from the court of France because of illness. Resident in Venice from about 1671, he served first at the Conservatorio dei mendicanti, then at the Oratorio S. Maria della Fava; after an initially unsuccessful effort to become maestroat St. Mark's, he was named vice-maestrothere in 1681, and was promoted to maestroin 1685. His Venetian years also included spans of operatic activity, with several such works of his presented in the periods 1675-78 and 1681-84. In addition to his dramatic works, he produced church music, several collections of sonatas, and secular vocal works; the counterpoint, thematic design, formal structure, and rhythmic profile of his instrumental music in particular point toward the late Baroque style of Vivaldi and others.