Luca Marenzio (1553–1599) is regarded as one of the great innovators at the turning point between the Renaissance and the Baroque. With more than five hundred madrigals, he is among the most prolific and influential composers of his time. His music is distinguished by an unprecedented refinement in word-painting: every emotion, every image, and every detail of the text receives a direct musical translation. Marenzio’s reputation extended far beyond Italy. In England, he was received with great admiration; his madrigals were included in the influential collection Musica Transalpina, which brought the Italian madrigal art to the north and played a decisive role in the spread of the genre. Composers such as Thomas Morley, Thomas Weelkes, and John Wilbye took Marenzio’s style as a model, leading to the famous English “madrigal craze.” John Dowland also counted Marenzio among his great inspirations. Marenzio also left a profound mark in the Low Countries. Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, chiefly known as a composer, organist, and influential teacher of the North German organ school, likewise wrote madrigals and chansons that clearly align with Marenzio’s Italian madrigal tradition. Furthermore, Marenzio’s influence was clearly felt in the German-speaking world. The German composer Hans Leo Hassler, who studied in Venice, admired Marenzio and further propagated his madrigal style in his own works.