Luca Marenzio (1553-1599) was a central figure in 16th century music, creating "the modern music of madrigal" as historian Ottavio Rossi rightly points out. The "spiritual madrigal" flourished significantly in the second half of the 1500s in the hands of such composers as Palestrina and Monteverdi. It was a good compromise, typical of the culture of the Counter Reformation, between religious content and a secular musical form.