Angelo Michele Bartolotti (died before 1682) was an Italianguitarist,theorbo player andcomposer. Bartolotti was probably born inBologna,Italy, as he describes himself as "Bolognese" on the title page of his first guitar book and "di Bologna" on the title page of his second.
Bartolotti's early career was probably spent inFlorence, possibly in the service ofJacopo Salviati, Duke of Giuliano. He was amongst a group of Italian musicians invited to the Court of QueenChristina of Sweden in the early 1650s. There are records of his employment there in 1652 and 1654. On her abdication in 1655, Christina lived in Rome and Bartolotti was probably employed in her service there. In 1658, she travelled toParis, and it is possible that Bartolotti accompanied her. He seems to have settled there and lived there until his death sometime before 1682.
During his years in Italy, Bartolotti published at least two collections of guitar music:Libro primo di chitarra spagnola (Florence, 1640) andSecondo libro di chitarra (Rome, ca. 1655). The first book contains a cycle ofpassacaglias in all major and minor keys, employing a combination ofbattute andpizzicato styles, influenced by earlier Italian guitarists such asGiovanni Paolo Foscarini; the book also includes aciaccona, afollia and six suites each comprising anAllemanda,Corente andSarabanda. The second book is French-influenced, with more emphasis on pizzicato writing. Three more pieces are attributed to him in manuscripts.
Bartolotti's oeuvre comprises some of the most carefully notated (with precise indications for various playing styles, ornaments, etc.) and advanced guitar music of the period. In France, however, he was best known as a theorbo player, praised byConstantijn Huygens andRené Ouvrard. His treatise on theorbo accompaniment (Table pour apprendre facilement à toucher le théorbe sur la basse-continuë (Paris, 1669) is among the best 17th-century sources on the subject.
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