One of the major institutions of sacred music, the Cappella Giulia at St. Peter's Basilica, can look back on a five-hundred-year history. Now Giancarlo Rostirolla brings this turbulent and spellbinding history to life using original documents from the Papal Library and the chapter archives of Saint Peter in the Vatican.

The Cappella Giulia was founded by Pope Julius II in 1513. Its chapel masters were the most important representatives of Roman vocal polyphony, above all Giovanni Animuccia an...