Four Sonatas

One of the attractions of the Scarlatti sonatas is that with so many single-movement constructions to choose from - no fewer than 555 according to the Kirkpatrick catalogue - there is no end to the number of effective groupings that can be made of them. While there is an aesthetically persuasive theory that the composer himself thought of them in terms of pairs of pieces linked by their tonality, there is no documentary evidence to support it. Even if there were, it would be no reason why performers (harpsichordists or pianists) should not make their own selections.

Today’s group consists of two pairs, each of which offers vividly contrasting but related sonatas. The first two are related only by their Andante tempo. Tonally, they have nothing in common while, emotionally, the poignancy represented by the little recurring figure of rising and falling triplets and of the probing modulations of the Sonata in F minor is at the opposite end of the spectrum to the exuberant buoyancy of its companion in G major. The second two, related by their tonality, are contrasted not only modally but also by tempo and expression: the unhappy A minor, with its sighing left hand curiously crossing the right, is the only Adagio in the whole series; the A major Presto is a brilliant example of a keyboard style enriched by the guitar figuration Scarlatti absorbed during the many years he spent in service to the royal courts in Portugal and Spain.