Giulio Belli
Encyclopedia
Giulio Belli was an Italian
composer of the late Renaissance
and early Baroque
eras. He was a prolific composer during the transitional time between the two musical eras, and worked in many cities in northern Italy.
, near Forlì
, southwest of Ravenna
. He studied in Naples
as a boy, but most of his career was spent in northern Italy. In 1582 he took a position as maestro di cappella at Imola
cathedral. For the rest of his life he worked in a number of Italian cities in a similar capacity: in Carpi (1591), Venice
, at Cà Grande (1594 or 1595), Montagnana
(1595), Ferrara
(1597), Osimo
(1599), Ravenna
(1600), Reggio
(1603), Forlì (later in 1603). In 1606 he briefly returned to his post at Cà Grande in Venice, but almost immediately quit and moved to Padua
to become maestro di cappella at the church of S Antonio there. His succession of appointments continued: in 1610 he was maestro di cappella at Assisi
; in 1611 he returned to Imola, where he stayed for two years; and he returned to Cà Grande yet another time, in 1615. In 1621 he moved back to Imola to resume his position there yet again; records of his activities end at that point.
While his rapid changes of employment might give one the impression of a restless and unfaithful employee, he apparently was highly regarded as an honorable and professional man. What kept him from being in the first rank of composers may have been his succession of employments in backwater areas — for example he never held a post at San Marco, and his stay in Ferrara coincided with the takeover of that formerly avant-garde musical center by the Papal States
.
es, many with basso continuo, showing his familiarity with contemporary practice. He also wrote psalm settings, and "sacred concertos" in the concertato
style — one of the most distinctive forms of the Italian early Baroque. His earlier music is mostly in the Palestrina
style of balanced polyphony
, though he used polychoral techniques, in keeping with northern Italian practice.
His secular music includes madrigal
s and canzonetta
s; some were famous enough to be anthologized by Thomas Morley
in England.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
composer of the late Renaissance
Renaissance music
Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance. Defining the beginning of the musical era is difficult, given that its defining characteristics were adopted only gradually; musicologists have placed its beginnings from as early as 1300 to as late as the 1470s.Literally meaning...
and early Baroque
Baroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
eras. He was a prolific composer during the transitional time between the two musical eras, and worked in many cities in northern Italy.
Life
He was born in LongianoLongiano
Longiano is a comune in the Province of Forlì-Cesena in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 90 km southeast of Bologna and about 30 km southeast of Forlì....
, near Forlì
Forlì
Forlì is a comune and city in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the right of the Montone river, and is an important agricultural centre...
, southwest of Ravenna
Ravenna
Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...
. He studied in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
as a boy, but most of his career was spent in northern Italy. In 1582 he took a position as maestro di cappella at Imola
Imola
thumb|250px|The Cathedral of Imola.Imola is a town and comune in the province of Bologna, located on the Santerno river, in the Emilia-Romagna region of north-central Italy...
cathedral. For the rest of his life he worked in a number of Italian cities in a similar capacity: in Carpi (1591), Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, at Cà Grande (1594 or 1595), Montagnana
Montagnana
Montagnana is a town and comune in the province of Padova, in Veneto . It is bounded by other communes of Saletto, Megliadino San Fidenzio, Casale di Scodosia, Urbana, Bevilacqua, Pojana Maggiore and Noventa Vicentina...
(1595), Ferrara
Ferrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
(1597), Osimo
Osimo
Osimo is a town and comune of the Marche, Italy, in the province of Ancona, 15 km south of that town by rail. It is situated on a hill near the Adriatic Sea.Silk-spinning and the raising of cocoons are carried on.-History:...
(1599), Ravenna
Ravenna
Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...
(1600), Reggio
Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia is an affluent city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 170,000 inhabitants and is the main comune of the Province of Reggio Emilia....
(1603), Forlì (later in 1603). In 1606 he briefly returned to his post at Cà Grande in Venice, but almost immediately quit and moved to Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...
to become maestro di cappella at the church of S Antonio there. His succession of appointments continued: in 1610 he was maestro di cappella at Assisi
Assisi
- Churches :* The Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi is a World Heritage Site. The Franciscan monastery, il Sacro Convento, and the lower and upper church of St Francis were begun immediately after his canonization in 1228, and completed in 1253...
; in 1611 he returned to Imola, where he stayed for two years; and he returned to Cà Grande yet another time, in 1615. In 1621 he moved back to Imola to resume his position there yet again; records of his activities end at that point.
While his rapid changes of employment might give one the impression of a restless and unfaithful employee, he apparently was highly regarded as an honorable and professional man. What kept him from being in the first rank of composers may have been his succession of employments in backwater areas — for example he never held a post at San Marco, and his stay in Ferrara coincided with the takeover of that formerly avant-garde musical center by the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
.
Music and influence
Belli's output of sacred music was impressive. He wrote numerous massMass (music)
The Mass, a form of sacred musical composition, is a choral composition that sets the invariable portions of the Eucharistic liturgy to music...
es, many with basso continuo, showing his familiarity with contemporary practice. He also wrote psalm settings, and "sacred concertos" in the concertato
Concertato
Concertato is a term in early Baroque music referring to either a genre or a style of music in which groups of instruments or voices share a melody, usually in alternation, and almost always over a basso continuo...
style — one of the most distinctive forms of the Italian early Baroque. His earlier music is mostly in the Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was an Italian Renaissance composer of sacred music and the best-known 16th-century representative of the Roman School of musical composition...
style of balanced polyphony
Polyphony
In music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ....
, though he used polychoral techniques, in keeping with northern Italian practice.
His secular music includes madrigal
Madrigal (music)
A madrigal is a secular vocal music composition, usually a partsong, of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Traditionally, polyphonic madrigals are unaccompanied; the number of voices varies from two to eight, and most frequently from three to six....
s and canzonetta
Canzonetta
In music, a canzonetta was a popular Italian secular vocal composition which originated around 1560...
s; some were famous enough to be anthologized by Thomas Morley
Thomas Morley
Thomas Morley was an English composer, theorist, editor and organist of the Renaissance, and the foremost member of the English Madrigal School. He was the most famous composer of secular music in Elizabethan England and an organist at St Paul's Cathedral...
in England.