Domenico Scarlatti began his compositional career
following in the footsteps of his father Alessandro
Scarlatti by writing operas, chamber cantatas, and
other vocal music, but he is most remembered for his
555 keyboard sonatas, written between approximately
1719 and 1757.
Published in 1738 in the Essercizi per gravicembalo,
which contained the composer's first 30 keyboard
sonatas, this D minor effort is one of 15 works in that
volume marked Presto. It is thus hardly surprising to
observ...(+)
Domenico Scarlatti began his compositional career
following in the footsteps of his father Alessandro
Scarlatti by writing operas, chamber cantatas, and
other vocal music, but he is most remembered for his
555 keyboard sonatas, written between approximately
1719 and 1757.
Published in 1738 in the Essercizi per gravicembalo,
which contained the composer's first 30 keyboard
sonatas, this D minor effort is one of 15 works in that
volume marked Presto. It is thus hardly surprising to
observe that the work brims with energy and drive,
traits typical of Scarlatti, especially in his
years.
The Sonata opens with a lively theme whose busy but
chipper demeanor takes on many colorful guises as the
music proceeds: after the exposition, Scarlatti adds
glissando-like descending scales that impart a sense of
diving, or even of swooping down from the clouds above.
In the end, most will hear the work as a tour de force
of keyboard color and virtuosity. True, some listeners
may charge that the music has an episodic feel, as one
section stops and another simply starts with different
material. But the thematic developments and
relationships within each are relatively easy for the
listener to discern, not least because of the
composer's brilliant sense for thematic transformation
and keyboard color. This Sonata in D minor -- one of 32
in the composer's canon of 555, by the way -- lasts
only about two-and-a-half minutes.
PARTITION