La Guitare Baroque Part III

Angelo Michele Bartolotti, sa vie, ses oeuvres et l'adaptation de ses oeuvres choisies en ré majeur pour la guitare moderne

Université de Montréal

Par Amir Houshangi
Présenté à l'examen général de doctorat
Novembre 2021

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 PART II: Angelo Michele Bartolotti

_{Portrait of Bartolotti from his Secondo libro (Rome, 1655).}

3. His life and works
3.1 Biography
3.1.1 Introduction and his early years
Angelo Michele Bartolotti (1615-1682) was a guitarist, composer, lute and theorbo player who was one of the pioneers in the development of baroque guitar music, as James Tyler in his book "A Guide to Playing the Baroque guitar states: "Bartolotti is arguably one of the foremost guitar composers of the Baroque period and, from its very first publication (Florence, 1640), it was clear that Bartolotti was ahead of his contemporaries, including Corbetta, whose modest first collection had appeared a year earlier."⁶²
Little is known about Bartolotti's birthplace, but since he describes himself as "Bolognese" on the title page of his first book and "di Bologna" on the title page of his second, it must be assumed that Bologna was his birthplace.
_{62 . Tyler.James. “ A GUIDE TO PLAYING THE BAROQUE GUITAR”, Indiana University Press,2011(p-70)}

He has written and published three books during his career, two of which were written for the baroque guitar, and the other is a treatise on theorbo as an accompaniment instrument.
His works are as follow:
1- ," Libro primo di Chitarra Spagnola" (Florence,1640) – First book of Spanish Guitar
2-"Secondo Libro di Chitarra Spagnola " (Rome,1655). – Second book of Spanish Guitar
3-"Table pour apprendre facilement à toucher le théorbe sur la basse-continuë " (Paris, 1669)
The name we are acquainted with today, "Angelo Michele Bartolotti," is taken from his second book. In contrast, his first name in his first book appeared as Angiol, and his last name in his theorbo book was written as Bartrolomi. _(Fig.28)

_{Fig.28. Top: Angiol in the 1st book, Middle: Angelo in the 2nd book Below: Bartolomi in the 3rd book}

Although he is thought to have been born in Bologna, since his first book was signed in Florence and dedicated to a member of the Florence aristocracy, he probably spent the early years of his career in that city Bartolotti dedicated his first book," Libro primo di Chitarra Spagnola”, to the Florentine nobleman Duca (Jacopo) Salviati, Duke of Giuliano (1607-1672), a member of the legendary Medici family.
in a letter (preface), Bartolotti describes his joy and devotion to the duke's support as: "I venture to present to Your Excellency the fruits of my genius although they are imperfect, to draw your attention to my burning desire to acquire your patronage and to show the world how much I value your virtue and generosity. Your Excellency will find in this document various pieces for the Spanish guitar. These are dedicated to you with good reason because it [the guitar] is a thing held dear by the Muses, and even though it is not one of the most sublime instruments, I have tried hard to render it harmonious. I trust, therefore, that in the same way that, as is well known, the Prince of the Muses did not think it inappropriate to woo the Forests with the sound of a humble bagpipe, your kindness will not disdain this product of my diligent study. May you receive my homage with pleasure while I pray the Heavens to bestow on you endless happiness."⁶³

_{63 . Hall. Monica,” Angelo Michele Bartolotti: Prince of Muses”, 2013, (p-2)
64 . Webber, Geoffrey, “Italian music at the court of Queen Christina”, Tidskrift für Musikforskning, 75/2 (1993), p.47-53.}

According to the Grove Dictionary article:". After the alliance with France in 1635, French culture began to assert itself at the Swedish court, and in 1637 Queen brought the dancing-master Antoine de Beaulieu and many other musicians from France. In 1646, to provide authentic music for the French ballets that quickly became the rage in Stockholm, Queen imported six French violinists, such as Pierre Verdier⁶⁵
From the above quote, it can be imagined that the ambience in the Swedish court was strongly influenced by French music.
Interestingly, the reason why the Queen hired Italian musicians was her similar interest to the Italian opera as well as French ballet, as the same article adds: "In November 1652, an Italian group of musicians engaged for her by Alessandro Cecconi was attached to the court. Cecconi, himself a musician who became the Queen's trusted personal servant and continued in her service in Rome, had discharged his commission well; the troupe included several excellent musicians such as Domenico Albrici and his sons Vincenzo and Bartolomeo,
Domenico and Nicola Melani, Pietro Reggio and (Angelo Bartolotti).⁶⁶
Putting together the pieces of information above and considering that both Italian and French music styles were still prevalent in the Queen's court, one can imagine how much the musicians serving at that court could have been a source of inspiration to each other.
Possibly the reason for Bartolotti's deep understanding of French music, which we will discuss later, is due to his association with French musicians during his career in the Swedish court.
After the Queen's abdication in 1654, she travelled to Rome via Brussels and Innsbruck.
During Queen's stay in Innsbruck, Bartolotti appears to have obtained a temporary job through the governor of Tyrol, Archduke Ferdinand Karl.⁶⁷

_{65 . Bergsagel, John. "Christina [Christina Alexandra], Queen of Sweden." Grove Music Online. . Oxford University Press. Date of access 30 Oct. 2021,
66 . Bergsagel, John. "Christina [Christina Alexandra], Queen of Sweden." Grove Music Online. . Oxford University Press. Date of access 30 Oct. 2021,
67 . Chauvel, Claude,” facsimile edition of Bartolotti’s books” Minkoff,1984 .( Introduction)}

Bartolotti published his second book, "Secondo Libro di Chitarra Spagnola "in 1655 during the Queen's temporary stay in Rome. This book is dedicated to Queen Christina and is utterly different in style from his first book.
Queen Christina left Rome for Paris in 1656 and stayed there from September 8 of that year until May 1658. Bartolotti, who accompanied her on this journey, decided to continue living in Paris instead of returning to Rome.

_{Fig.29. Queen Christina, engraving by C.Visscher, 1650.}

3.1.3.Years of residence in France
From the late 1650s until the end of his life, Bartolotti lived mainly in the French capital. As he was a prominent theorbo player and had a history of playing in Italian operas such as works by Francesco Cavalli (1602-1676), he preferred to play and teach theorbo instead of the guitar during his stay in Paris.⁶⁸
He was likely to serve in an Italian opera troupe recruited by Cardinal Mazarin and was also intermittently affiliated with the royal court.⁶⁹
Before the Italian troupe was dismissed in 1666, Bartolotii probably performed as a theorbist in the opening performance of Cavalli's opera "Ercole Amante" on February 7, 1662. In 1664 Bartolotti's 68 . Eisenhardt, Lex, “Italian Guitar Music of the Seventeenth Century: Battuto and Pizzicato, University of Rochester Press, 2015, (p-34)
_{69 . Melvin, Michael John, “TONAL HARMONIC SYNTAX AND GUITAR PERFORMANCE IDIOM IN TWO MID-SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY ITALIAN GUITAR BOOKS BY ANGELO MICHELE BARTOLOTTI, MMus Thesis, University of Arizona, 2003 (p-13)}

name was listed in the royal accounts and the other Italian musicians of the "Cabinet de Sa Majesté" with wages of "450 Livres."
In the same year, he took part in the fifth Entrée to Molière's "Le Mariage forcé," accompanying Bergerotti and other singers in a "Concert Espagnol."
Evidence suggests that after his career in the Italian troupe Bartolotti entered the service of French general Louis de Bourbon, Prince of Conde (1621-1686).⁷⁰
Two manuscripts of his theorbo works are left, one from c.1660, which contains ten pieces, and the other from 1665, which includes six pieces. However, during his stay in Paris, his most valuable work is a treatise on the playing of basso continuo on theorbo titled "Table pour apprendre facilement à toucher le théorbe sur la basse-continuë, " This book was published by Robert Ballard in Paris and has been dedicated to King Louis XIV. _(Fig,30)

_{Fig.30. The first page of Table pour apprendre facilement à toucher le théorbe sur la bassecontinu}

^{70 . Chauvel, Claude,” facsimile edition of Bartolotti’s books” Minkoff,1984 .( Introduction)}

In confirmation of his position and importance as a theorbist, there are two pieces of evidence, one written as a letter to a friend by the Dutch scholar, Constantyn Huygens, that mentions having heard "AngeloMichel playing the theorbo in Paris at the house of Anna Bergerotti and regrets not having asked him for copies of the music." ⁷¹
The other is a letter written by Remy Ouvard (1624–1694), a French priest, writer and composer, in which he mentioned the possibility of publishing Bartolotti's treatise and describes "Sig. Angelo Michel" as "without a doubt the most skilful upon the theorbo, especially for playing upon a continued-bass, that you can find both in France and in Italy. "⁷²
Bartolotti is thought to have died in 1682. To explain this hypothesis, Monica Hall clarifies: “In the record books of the Secrétariat de la Maison du Roi (Louis XIV) there is an entry in January 1682 recording that the possessions of a certain Italian “Miquelange” were assigned to one “Launay, Garde de la Compagnie de Luxemburg, y servant depuis neuf ans”. If this was Bartolotti, it is to be assumed that he had died some time previously. Under French law, the possessions of aliens who died in France became the property of the King to dispose of as he saw fit. ⁷³
There is no reference to Bartolotti after that date as if his life story had ended in 1682.

<sub>71 . Huygens, Constantin « Musique et musiciens aux XVIIe siècle : correspondence et oeuvre Musicales de Constantin Huygens s. Leyde : E.J. Brill, 1882, ( p.55).
72. R. Ouvrard: “Letter to C. Nicaise” (16 July 1666), F-Pn fr. 9360.
73 . Hall. Monica,” Angelo Michele Bartolotti: Prince of Muses”, 2013, (p-5)</sub>

3.2. His Works
3.2.1. Bartolotti’s first book of Spanish guitar" Libro primo di Chitarra Spagnola (1640).

^{(Fig.31). First Page of the “Libro primo di Chitarra Spagnola (1640)”}

In the middle is Salviati’s Coat of Arms

Bartolotti's first book, signed on August 9, 1640, begins with kind words and expressions of devotion to the Duke of Salviati (mentioned earlier) and then delivers instructions to the readers.
In any case, before this study intends to move into the details of Bartolotti's instructions, it is best to review the book's contents first.
The book consists of twenty-four Passacaglias, a Ciaconna, six suites and a Folia.
1-Passacaglias (Pages 1-48) consist of twenty-four major and minor tonalities, starting with B-flat minor and proceeding in a circle of fifths through all the principal keys back and ending with Csharp major and evidently all in 3/[4] (refer to the table no.3 for a better understanding of the sequence of tonalities)*. Capital letters represent Major keys

2- A Ciaconna in C major, (Pages 49-51) in C major in 3/[4]
3-Six suites in C major, a minor, g minor. D major, b minor and d minor each contain the following movements:
I. C major : (Pages 51-54) Allema(nde) ¢, Cor(rente) 3/[4] ,Corente 3/[4], Sarab(anda) 3/[4]
II. a minor : (Pages 55-58) Allema(nde) ¢, Cor(rente) 3/[4] , Cor(rente) 3/[4] Sarab(anda) 3/[4]
III. g minor : (Pages 59-62) Allema(nde) ¢, Cor(rente) 3/[4] , Cor(rente) 3/[4] Sarab(anda) 3/[4]
IV.D major : (Pages 63-66) Allema(nde) ¢, Cor(rente) 3/[4] , Cor(rente) 3/[4] Sarab(anda) 3/[4]
V. minor : (Pages 67-70) Allema(nde) ¢, Cor(rente) 3/[4] , Cor(rente) 3/[4] Sarab(anda) 3/[4]
VI. d minor : (Pages 71-74) Allema(nde) ¢, Cor(rente) 3/[4] , Cor(rente) 3/[4] Sarab(anda) 3/[4]
4- A folia in g minor (Page 75) 3/2

There are various comments about the musical value of this book, most of them in praise of this work: for instance, Monica Hall believes: "the music of this book in overall is of a high standard and sadly has been almost entirely neglected in favour of that in the second book."⁷⁴
Lex Eisenhardt also sees this book as one of the first attempts to create a genuine guitar style. It incorporates lute-style elements into Battuto and shows the instrument freeing itself from its restrictions.⁷⁵
Still, one of the most striking of this book is a collection of twenty-four passacaglias in all tonalities, which is historically one of the first collections of its kind.⁷⁶

_{74 . Hall. Monica,” Angelo Michele Bartolotti: Prince of Muses, 2013, (p-10)
75 Eisenhardt, Lex, “Italian Guitar Music of the Seventeenth Century: Battuto and Pizzicato, University of Rochester Press, 2015, (p-34)
76 . • George, Jeffrey Lawrence, “ANGELO MICHELE BARTOLOTTI “: A Performance edition of his 13suites from the publication of Secondo Libro di Chitarra of 1655 “, Arizona State University, 2005(p-5)}

3.2.2. Bartolotti’s second book of Spanish guitar" Libro secondo di Chitarra Spagnola” (1655)._(Fig.35)

_{Fig.35. House of Vasa's (Christina of Sweden Royal Family) Coat of Arms on the First page of the second book," Libro secondo di Chitarra Spagnola."}

Bartolotti's second book, which is in a different style from the first, contains seven sets of pieces in seven different tonalities (e minor, G major, C major D major, a minor, d minor and g minor The book was published in Rome and is dedicated to Queen Christina of Sweden, as mentioned before.
Explaining the musical style of this book, Monica Hall states: "The music of Bartolotti’s Secondo libro di chitarra is different in style
from that of his earlier book with a more lute-like, free voice texture, fewer strummed chords, and elaborate passagework, ornamentation and campanelas."⁷⁷

_{77 . Hall. Monica,” Angelo Michele Bartolotti: Prince of Muse”s, 2013, (p-22)}

At the beginning of the "To reader" section, Bartolotti explains his long-term intention to publish this book and its level of difficulty as follows: "It has been a long time since I had to print this second book of guitar sonatas at the request of quite a few people; but due to some impediments, I have so far not been able to satisfy the desire of those who ask me and of mine to serve them.
Although some have criticized this mode of the sound of mine for being difficult, I nevertheless hope that everyone will find it easier, that one does not believe it, if he observes all the signs, which are expressed here -below even if he is not a beginner, for which I declare not to have made this effort, but yes for those who are already advanced in this profession."⁷⁸
According to the above, it seems that the level of playing required for the pieces of this book was advanced, and the composer did not facilitate them against the wishes of his critics

However, the contents of the book are:
 

Set No.1 in e minor (Pages 1-8):
1- Prelude 4/4 2. Allemande ¢ 3. Gavot[te] ¢ 4. Courante 3/ [4] 5. Sarabande 3/[4] 6. Gigue 6/8 7.
Brand[o] 6/8 8. Allema[nde] ¢ 9. Courante 3/ [4] 10. Gigue 6/8 11. Saraba[nde] 3/ [4]
12-Passacaglie 3/2.
Overall :1 prelude, 2 allemandes, 1 gavotte, 2 courantes, 2 sarabandes,1 brando 2gigues and a Passacaglia
 

Set No.2 in G major (Pages 10-25):
1-Prelude ¢ 2-Allemande ¢ 3-Courante 3/ [4] 4-Sarabande 3/ [4] 5-Gavot[te] ¢
6-Passac[aglie] ¢ 7-Gigue ¢ 8-Allema[nde] ¢ 9-Coura[nte] 3/ [4] 10-Saraba[nde] 3/[4]
11-Ciacona 3/ [4] 12-Allemande ¢ 13-Cour[ante] 3/[4] 14-Sarab[ande] 3/[4]
15-Saraba[nde] 3/ [4] 16-Brando 6/8 17-Gigue ¢18-Prelude ¢ 19-Allemande ¢
20-Courante 3/ [4] 21-Saraba[n]de 3/ [4] 22-Courante 3/[4] 23-Passaca[glie] 3/2.

Overall: 2preludes, 4 allemandes, 5 courantes, 5 sarabande, 1 gavotte, 2 passacaglias, 2 gigues, 1 ciacona and a brando
_{78 . Bartolotti, Angelo Michele, “Libro secondo di chitarra Spagnola”, Florence,1640, Preface}

Set No.3 in C major (Pages 26-38):
1-Prelude ¢2-Allemande ¢ 3-Couren[te] 3/ [4] 4-Saraba[nde] 3/[4] 5-Gigue 6/4 6-Prelude ¢
7-Allema[n]de ¢ 8-Coura[n]te 3/ [4] 9-Sarabande 3/ [4] 10-Gavotte ¢ 11-Caprice ¢
12-Alle[mande] ¢ 13-Gigue 3/[4] 14-Gigue 6/4 15-Allemande ¢16-Coura[n]te 3/[4]
17-Sarab[ande] 3/ [4] 18-Courante 3/[4] 19-Sarab[ande] 3/[4] 20-Gigue 6/8 21-Menuette 3/[4]
22-Gigue 6/8 23-Ciaccona 3/ [4]
Overall: 2 preludes, 4 allemandes, 4 courantes, 4 sarabandes, 5 gigues, 1 gavotte, 1 caprice, 1 menuette and a ciaconna
 

Set No.4 in D major (Pages42-51):
1-Prelude ¢ 2-Allemande ¢ 3-Coura[n]te 3/ [4] 4-Sarabande 3/[4] 5-Gigue 6/8
6-Prelude ¢ 7-Allem[ande] ¢ 8-Coura[n]te 3/ [4] 9-Saraba[n]de 3/[4] 10-Gigue 6/8
11-Allemande ¢ 12-Coura[n]te 3/ [4] 13-Sarab[ande] 3/ [4]
14-Allema[n]de ¢ 15-Coura[n]te 3/ [4] 16-Courante 3/ [4] 17-Sarabande 3/[4] 18-Gavot[t]e ¢
19-Gigue 6/8 20-Passacaglie 3/2
Overall: 2 preludes, 4 allemandes, 5 courantes, 4 sarabandes, 3 gigues, 1 gavotte and a passacaglia

Set No.5 in a minor (Pages54-62):
1-Prelude ¢ 2-Gavotte ¢ p3-Allemande ¢ 4-Coura[nte] 3/ [4] 5-Coura[n]t[e] 3/ [4]
6-Saraba[nde] 3/ [4] 7-Sarab[ande] 3/ [4]8-Gigue ¢ 9-Alle[mande] ¢ 10-Coura[nte] 3/[4]
11-Allema[nde] ¢ 12-Coura[nte] 3/ [4] 13-Gigue 6/8 14-Gavotte ¢ 15-Passacaglie 3/2
Overall: 1 prelude, 2 gavottes, 3 allemandes, 4 courante, 2 sarabandes, 2 gigues and a passacaglia

Set No.6 in d minor (Pages 64-78):
1-Prelude ¢ 2-Allem[ande] ¢ 3-Coura[n]te 3/ [4] 4-Sarab[ande] 3/ [4] 5-Caprice ¢
6-Brando 6/8 7-Allema[n]de ¢ 8-Courante 3/ [4] 9-Saraban[de] 3/ [4] 10-Prelude ¢
11-Allem[ande] ¢ 12-Sarab[ande] 3/ [4] 13-Coura[nte] 3/ [4] 14-Sarab[ande] 3/[4] 15-Gigue 6/8
16-Sarab[ande] 3/[4] 17-Canarie 3/[4] 18-Prelude ¢ 19-Allem[ande] ¢ 20-Aria 3/[4]
21-Coura[n]te 3/ [4] 22-Coura[n]te 3/[4] 23-Sarab[ande] 3/[4] 24-Gigue 3/[4]
25-Passacaglie 3/2
Overall: 3 preludes, 4 allemandes, 5 courantes, 6 sarabandes, 1 caprice, 1 brando, 2 gigues, 1 canarie, 1 aria and a passacaglia

Set No.7 in g minor (Pages 81-104):
1-Prel[ude] ¢ 2-Gavo[tte] ¢ 3-Allema[nde] ¢ 4-Couran[te] 3/ [4] 5-Sarab[ande] 3/[4]
6-Gav[otte] ¢ 7-Canari[e] 3/ [4] 8-Prelud[e] ¢ 9-Alle[mande] ¢ 10-Couran[te] 3/[4]
11-Sara[bande] 3/ [4] 12-Gigue ¢ 13-Allem[ande] ¢ 14-Cour[ante] 3/ [4]
15-Sar[abande] 3/ [4] 16-Ciac[cona] 3/ [4] 17-Allemande ¢ 18-Courante 3/ [4]
19-Saraba[nde] 3/ [4] 20-Brando 6/8 21-Gigue 6/8 22-Follia 3/ [4] 23-Passacaglie 3/2
24-Saraba[nde] 3/ [4]
Overall: 2 preludes, 4 allemandes, 2 gavottes, 4 courantes, 5 sarabandes, 1 canarie, 2 gigues, 1 ciaconna, 1 brando , 1 folia and a passacaglia.

The critical point about the above collection is that each set at least has one prelude, the most extensive set is in d minor with 25 pieces, and the briefest one is in e minor with 12 pieces.
There are less common movements in the last two sets, such as Aira, Canarie; the last set is the only one that ends with sarabande instead of Passacaglia.
Since the print is much darker towards the end of the book, it is possible if the last or the last two sets may have been added to a previous edition.⁷⁹
_{79 . Hall. Monica,” Angelo Michele Bartolotti: Prince of Muses”, 2013, (p-22)}

4. Adaptation Process; Requirements and challenges
4.1. Style review : The prevailing style of Bartolotti's "Libro secondo di Chitarra Spagnola" The importance and prominent French style of Bartolotti's second book music have been discussed in various sources, some of which are mentioned below: On the importance of this work, George Lawrence explains: "Bartolotti's second publication is, without a doubt, among the most important ones for the baroque guitar in the seventeenth century and is significant on many levels from its compositional complexity and detail to being among the earliest publications for guitar consisting of dances grouped into larger French suite-like compositions,"⁸⁰
Or Monica Hall, about the music style of this book, states:" In his second book, Bartolotti was clearly influenced by French music. Throughout the French form of the titles of the dance movements are used." ⁸¹
And James Tyler explains Bartolotti's unique mastery and the probable reason for this composing style as follow: " Bartolotti demonstrated an understanding and mastery of the guitar's unique idioms that went unequalled until much later in the century. He dedicated it to Queen Christina, who, by this date, resided there. Many titles of pieces, including the present prelude, are in French, reflecting, perhaps, the Queen's tastes."⁸²

From all the above quotes, one can understand the style and importance of this manuscript, but what are the main points that lead to this importance? What are the elements that make his style to be regarded as the advancing French style of his time?
In this section, this research will point out the characteristics that made this work more progressive of its time. With some comparisons, it will examine his pioneering role in the French style of guitar music and his influence on a later generation.
 

_{80 . George, Jeffrey Lawrence, “ANGELO MICHELE BARTOLOTTI “: A Performance edition of his 13suites from the publication of Secondo Libro di Chitarra of 1655 “, Arizona State University, 2005, (p-8)
81 . Hall. Monica,” Angelo Michele Bartolotti: Prince of Muses”, 2013, (p-22)
82 . Tyler. James. “A GUIDE TO PLAYING THE BAROQUE GUITAR”, Indiana University Press,2011(p-70)}

Probably the first thing that seems unique in Bartolotti's music is his usage of preludes.
Bartolotti wrote at least one and at most three preludes for each set of pieces he composed.
As Lawrence explains:
"Bartolotti suggests that the performer first choose a prelude and then add other dances to create a suite to their liking. When Libro Secondo was printed, the prelude had not secured its position as the opening movement to the baroque suite. The allemande was commonly the beginning point."⁸³
Although other composers, such as Corbetta and Granata, composed preludes, Bartolotti's composition style differed. Corbetta, for example, has five preludes in his Vari scherzi di sonate, published in 1648, 7 years before Bartolotti's second book, but his style was different as James Tyler explains: "The prelud[io] al 5to Tuono (in the fifth mode; that is, the Lydian mode in Renaissance music theory, transposed by Corbetta to C) is a delicate, free-style, introductory piece. As it would go against the character of a prelude to perform it with a steady beat throughout, the player is encouraged to speed up or slow down certain passages." Or Like Pinell describes Corbetta's Preludes as "The preludes flash by in arpeggios, scales, rapid note pairs and free in style."⁸⁴
 

_{83 . George, Jeffrey Lawrence, “ANGELO MICHELE BARTOLOTTI “: A Performance edition of his 13suites from the publication of Secondo Libro di Chitarra of 1655 “, Arizona State University, 2005, (p-10)
84 PINNELL, Richard Tilden, “THE ROLE OF FRANCESCO CORBETTA (1615-1681) IN THE HISTORY OF MUSIC FOR THE BAROQUE GUITAR, INCLUDING A TRANSCRIPTION OF HIS COMPLETE WORKS (VOLUMES I AND II). University of California, Los Angeles, Ph.D., 1976 (p-134)}

In contrast, most of Bartolotti's new French-style preludes, unlike Corbetta, consists of two parts, a freely lute-style section followed by a counterpoint section.
There is another clear example in this regard. Another of Bartolotti's contemporaries, Granata, in his 4th book published in 1669, also has a prelude for a five-course guitar. Granata's Prelude is a prelude without measure with an improvised structure. _(Fig.45)

_{Fig.45. Above Bartolotti's two sections prelude Below: Granata's prelude without measure}

The next point to notice is the usage of less common French dance movements of that time, such as gavotte and minuets. In that period, these dances could not be found in any baroque guitar manuscripts except in Bartolotti's 2nd book, as George Lawrence states:
"Further evidence of Bartolotti's forward-looking approach is evidenced by his inclusion of the minuette and gavotte. Both of which were relatively new from the court of Louis XIV. The two dances did not regularly appear in Italian guitar and lute publications until after1680."⁸⁵
In fact, according to the Oxford Grove Music Dictionary, Gavotte was one of the French court dances introduced during the reign of Louis XIV, probably in the 1660s or earlier. Gavottes were popular in ballets and other theatrical works. Lully set 37 titled gavottes in his stage works, beginning as early as 1655 in the Ballet des plaisirs.⁸⁶. It is worth mentioning that 1655 was the year of the publication of Libro Secondo.⁸⁷
On the other hand, the variety and quantity of dances are characteristics we observe later in the French baroque guitar tradition. For instance, In Robert de Visée's Livre de Guittarre (Paris, 1682), there are as many as thirteen dances in his suites.
 

_{85 . George, Jeffrey Lawrence, “ANGELO MICHELE BARTOLOTTI “: A Performance edition of his 13suites from the publication of Secondo Libro di Chitarra of 1655 “, Arizona State University, 2005, (p-11)
86 Little, Meredith Ellis, and Matthew Werley. "Gavotte." Grove Music Online. . Oxford University Press. Date of access 4 Nov. 2021,} 

Another reason for Bartolotti's mastery of French-style composition was the persistence of his works among the French in the late seventeenth century when according to Gérard Rebours, France was the cradle of all European arts "In the late of the seventeenth century, for the guitar, the direction of influence was now reversed, and we find French guitar music, as well as French dance and opera music settings in English, Austrian, Belgian, Dutch, Portuguese and Spanish manuscripts or publications. And when we look at French manuscripts, such as the huge Recueil d'airs de guitare,, with its 350 pages containing 540 pieces, Except of Bartolotti and Corbetta's music who were both lived in France,we see almost nothing typically Spanish or ltalian: no Gaspar Sanz, no Francisco Guerau, no Ludovico Roncalli,
but lotsof pieces by Robert de Visée, Gautier, Jean-Baptiste Lully, Jean-Philippe Rameau, François Couperin, Marin Marais,André Campra, French songs, dances and airs.”⁸⁸
Considering all of the above, and the fact that Bartolotti named all the existing movements in this book in French even if they are not French in terms of content (like his courantes which are in fact correntes) indicates that he probably wanted this book to be known as a French work.!

4.2. instructions, signs, and ornaments
The first step in the adaptation process is to become familiar with and understand the instructions, signs and ornaments mentioned by the composer in both 1st and the 2nd book.
Bartolotti provided instructions to the reader at the beginning of each book.
These instructions in both books are sometimes unclear and need to be interpreted.
Still, even after a proper understanding of them, perhaps because the text is handwritten, they are sometimes inconsistent in the context.
Although the purpose of this study is to adapt the 2nd book pieces for the modern guitar, as some of the instructions in the 1st t book are not stated in the 2nd book, and their understanding is essential to achieving the result, this study examines the guidelines of both.
 

_{88 Rebours, Gérard,” The baroque guitar in France, and its two main figures: Robert de Visée & François Campion ©Gérard Rebours 2013 (p-4)}

4.2.1 Instructions and signs in the first book:
Since the original text by Bartolotti is complex and often without punctuation marks, below is a simplified version that numbered the instructions:
I will warn whoever will practice the present works to observe all that will be described here:
1-If you find a letter of the Alphabet, there will follow its stroke, and the strokes are in the first line below.
2- If after the line there follows a number and then the stroke, one must keep the hand strong if one can and make a number & give his stroke more than one, with forms, will be found written.
3-If there are no strokes, one will pluck in the way that will show the dots under the numbers that are, where there is a dot, upstroke with the first finger, and if there are two, upstroke with the
second, and if there is no dot, give it down with the big finger(thumb).
4- if you find two numbers with dots next to them, pluck with the first and second fingers. In some places, one must be careful not to touch the other strings' strokes except those indicated by the numbers.
5-This is the sign of the trill %, but where they find it across a staff, they must trill that string, and finding it otherwise, they will trill the string that will be closer to it.
6-This is the sign of the sforzato trill #, and this È is that of the strained Trill.

The 1st instruction: straightforward, as already in the Alfabeto section mentioned; the vertical line on the lowest tablature line signifies strumming. If the vertical line is below the tab line, it is the downstroke, and if it is above the tablature line, it means upstroke. _(Fig.32)

_{Fig.32. Passacaglia in Eb, the 1st instruction should be interpreted as above in the modern notation}

The 2nd Instruction: There are three types of interpretation combining Alfabeto and numbers: 1- if a number comes after a strummed letter and is followed by another strumming sign, the number should be a part of the second chord. Fig.32

_{Fig.32. Passacaglia in C page 19
*. Although Bartolotti changed the strumming method in his 2nd book, this instruction still applies to those}

2- If a number is between two Alfabeto strums with a dot below, the note the number represents should be played separately. Fig.33

_{Fig.33. From Allemande P-59, the player should play the G separately by the first (Index) finger}

3- If the number is aligned with the Alfabeto letter, the indicated note should be played as a part of the chord. Fig.34

_{Fig.34 the note G (number 3) in this D-letter chord, which is a minor, is not part of the chord, but since the number is aligned with the letter, it should be included in the chord}

The 3rd and the 4th instructions refer to the right-hand fingering.
So that when a dot is next to a number, the note that indicates that number should be played with the index finger.
If two dots are next to a number, the note should be played with the middle finger. Lastly, if the dots are next to two numbers, those two notes should be played simultaneously with the Index and middle fingers. Since this is basic instruction, Bartolotti does not seem to have used this in the second book for advanced players.

The 5th and the 6th refer to the ornamentation signs:
1-The % sign signifies Trill, and based on the context, it can be varied from an appoggiatura to a long trill. (Fig.35)
2- This is the sign of the sforzato trill #(Vibratos), and this one ∪ is that of the strained Trill (Slurs). (Fig.35)

_{Fig.35. Passacaglia in Eb major Book1 Page-8 M47 &53}