Roaming the Baroque

The heyday of the battuto-pizzicato repertoire took place in the second half of the 17th century. The guitar’s great success is mainly due to the charismatic Francesco Corbetta, who was a welcome guest at the courts of Europe.
However, the most important innovations in terms of style can be found in the Secondo libro (1655) by Angiol Michele (or Michelangelo) Bartolotti. This Bartolotti was first and foremost famous as a theorbo player rather than as a guitarist.
In Bartolotti’s second guitar book, we find works in the highly developed polyphonic pizzicato style of the lute, but also dances such as sarabandes that consist mainly of well-written, sometimes spicy, harmonies.
What is striking is Bartolotti’s often very virtuose use of the instrument and a successful integration of the Italian and French styles.

Vincenzo Albrici (1631–1687)
1. Sinfonia in D minor
Musica Antiqua Köln
(cd Musica Baltica, DG Archiv 459 619-2AH, 1999)

Michelangelo Bartolotti (fl. 1640–1669)
2. Suite in E minor
– Prelude
– Allemande
– Courante
– Sarabande
– Gigue
– Passacaille
Lex Eisenhardt, baroque guitar
(private recording)

Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi Mealli (1624–c. 1687)
3. La Vinciolina
Andrew Manze, violin. Fred Jacobs, theorbo
(cd Pandolfi Mealli violin sonatas, Channel Classics, CCS 5894, 1992)

Michelangelo Bartolotti
4. Prelude
5. Allemande
Simon Linné, theorbo
(cd L’Art du théorbiste, Brilliant Classics 95426, 2017)

Johann Jacob Froberger (1616–1667)
6. Suite in D minor
– Allemande
– Courante
– Sarabande
– Gigue
Gilbert Rowland, harpsichord
(cd Froberger – Suites for harpsichord, Athene Records ATH 23204, 2019)

Michelangelo Bartolotti
7. Sarabande
8. Gigue
9. Chaconne
Simon Linné, theorbo
(cd L’Art du théorbiste, Brilliant Classics 95426, 2017)

Image: portrait Michelangelo Bartolotti