Giulio Belli (c. 1560–1621 or later) was an Italian composer of the Late Renaissance and Early Baroque periods. He was an extremely prolific composer during the transitional period between these two musical eras and worked in many cities in northern Italy.
He was born in Longiano near Forlì. As a boy, he studied in Naples, but spent most of his professional career in northern Italy. In 1582, he accepted a position as Kapellmeister at the cathedral in Imola. For the rest of his life, he worked in various Italian cities in similar capacities: in Carpi (1591), Venice, Ca’ Grande (1594 or 1595), Montagnana (1595), Ferrara (1597), Osimo (1599), Ravenna (1600), Reggio (1603), and Forlì (later from 1603 to 1606). In 1606, he briefly returned to Ca’ Grande in Venice, but resigned from this position almost immediately and went to Padua to become Kapellmeister at the Church of San Antonio. His series of appointments continued: in 1610 he was Kapellmeister in Assisi; in 1611 he returned to Imola, where he remained for two years; in 1615 he returned once more to Ca’ Grande. In 1621, he moved back to Imola to resume his position there; the records of his activities end at this point.
Although his frequent changes of employment might give the impression of a restless and unreliable employee, he apparently enjoyed a high reputation as an honorable and professional man. The fact that he was not among the most significant composers may have been due to his numerous appointments in relatively insignificant regions—for example, he never held a position in San Marco, and his stay in Ferrara coincided with the Papal States’ takeover of this formerly avant-garde musical center.
Belli’s sacred works were impressive. He composed numerous masses, many of them with basso continuo, which attests to his familiarity with contemporary practice. In addition, he wrote psalm settings and “sacred concertos” in the concertato style—one of the most distinctive forms of early Italian Baroque. His early works are largely in the style of Palestrina, with his balanced polyphony, although, in keeping with northern Italian practice, he employed polyphonic techniques. (Wikipedia)
