Peri was a skilled Italian performer and composer who was trained as an organist but was capable of bringing a tear to any one's eye with his vocal expressiveness. He also played the chittarone and worked in collaboration with a number of prominent composers including Corsi, Caccini and Gagliano. Peri wrote a number of operas and stage songs in a recitative style attempting to give expression through the music to the spoken word in its natural rhythms. Succeeding in this venture he applied the same ideas to choral numbers, strophic songs, and other recitatives. Peri held positions as an organist, as a singer and composer for the Medici court, a court position at Mantua and, early in his career Jacopo was a signer at S Giovanni Battista. Two important operas that Peri composed were "Dafne" and "Euridice." In the former the melodic line is rather slow but indicative of some of Peri's other work. His accompaniments were strong and Euridice is characterized as providing full expression to the story-line through the music. Peri's "Euridice" is also the earliest opera for which the entire score is extant! Peri had a keen sense and ability for unfolding the dramatic structure of a libretto and giving expression to a variety of emotions through the music. ~ Keith Johnson, Rovi