celebrated Italian lutenist, composer, and music theorist, father of the great astronomer Galileo Galilei; b. S. Maria a Monte, near Florence, c.1520; d. Florence (buried), July 2, 1591. A skillful lutenist and violinist, and a student of ancient Greek theory, Galilei was a leading member of the artistic circle meeting at Count Bardi's house known as the Florentine Camerata.

Galilei attacked the earlier practice of interweaving several voices in counterpoint. He wished for a return to the classical purity that he believed was practiced in ancient Greece and Rome. His compositions for solo voice with LUTE accompaniment are early examples of MONODY (a single melody with harmonic accompaniment). This style was further developed by the founders of the OPERA IN MUSICA. He also published several tracts on music that advanced his theories, all of considerable historical interest.

Galilei placed his music in his Fronimo (lute transcriptions and original compositions), two books of lute intabulations (1563, 1584), two books of four- and five-voiced MADRIGALS (1574, 1587), and two-part CONTRAPUNTI (1584).