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Martino Bitti

Martino Bitti Detail
from a group portrait of musicians serving at the court of
Tuscany (Pitti Palace, Florence) believed to show Martino Bitti.


Violin, basso continuo Violin, basso continuo Violin, basso continuo Violin, basso continuo Violin, basso continuo Violin, basso continuo Violin, basso continuo Violin, basso continuo

The modest technical demands of the ‘London’ sonatas in particular, and their attractiveness, make the appearance of this edition most welcome.”
The Consort | Read the review

Violin, basso continuo Violin, basso continuo Violin, basso continuo Violin, basso continuo Violin, basso continuo
Violin, basso continuo Violin, basso continuo Violin, basso continuo Violin, basso continuo Violin, basso continuo Violin, basso continuo Violin, basso continuo Violin, basso continuo Violin, basso continuo Violin, basso continuo Violin, basso continuo Violin, basso continuo


Martino Bitti (1655/56–1743) was the leading violinist-composer in Florence during the period dominated by Corelli in Rome, Torelli in Bologna and Vivaldi in Venice. For many years players of the recorder and oboe have delighted in his sonatas for their instruments, but until now, strangely, his sonatas for his own instrument have remained largely unknown and lacking modern editions. These are musically substantial, forward-looking compositions marked by great melodic beauty, contrapuntal strength and, above all, a distinctive voice. Bitti’s twenty-four violin sonatas fall into three groups, preserved and/or published, respectively, in London, Dresden and Cambridge.

Michael Talbot’s thematic catalogue of the instrumental music of Martino Bitti, containing the opening themes of every movement of all Bitti’s preserved instrumental compositions, has recently (2015) been published in the journal Royal Musical Association Research Chronicle (vol. 46, pp. 46–94) under the title ‘A Thematic Catalogue of the Instrumental Music of Martino Bitti (1655/6–1743)’. This catalogue has a substantial introduction discussing Bitti’s life and music and contains some new material, including evidence to support the hypothesis that he briefly visited London around 1702–1703. Full details of the sources, which include modern editions by Edition HH and others, are given.


Michael Talbot: Martino Bitti’s Twenty-four Sonatas for Violin and Basso continuo: An Introduction
Leaflet click here to download this Introduction (updated April 2014)


Michael Talbot: A Thematic Catalogue of the Instrumental Music of Martino Bitti (1655/6–1743)
Published in the Royal Musical Association Research Chronicle
Catalogue is availbable from Taylor & Francis
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