Un caso di rielaborazione nel XVI secolo: il Missarum cum quinque vocibus liber primus di Giulio Belli

Abstract

The first edition of Giulio Belli’s Missarum cum quinque vocibus liber
primus was published by Angelo Gardano in 1586, followed by a second edition in
1597 and a third in 1603. There are some important differences between the first
and the other editions, the most important being the replacement of the Missa
«Estote fortes in bello» by the Missa «Vestiva i colli», which is included in both the
second and third editions. The other four masses have also undergone significant
revisions: some notes have been changed, rhythmic and melodic variants have
been added, parts of the text-underlay have been modified, and some sections
of music have been completely removed or replaced. By presenting the results of
a thorough comparison of the two versions of Belli’s Missarum book, this article
aims to show how the book was reworked and to understand the reason for such
reworking. Both musical and textual evidence will show that the whole process
was probably carried out by the composer himself, and not by the printer or a
reviser working for him. As a truly rare case in the sixteenth-century repertoire,
the understanding of Belli’s reworking is of great interest for the development
of studies on filologia d’autore in the Renaissance.