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‘Domenico Scarlatti was without doubt, the
most original keyboard composer of his time’, wrote Ralph Kirkpatrick,
Scarlatti’s biographer.
He was born in Naples on October 26th 1685, the
same year as Bach and Handel. It was not until around 1720 however, that
his compositional skills developed fully following an appointment in
Portugal as chapel music master to King João V, - and harpsichord
teacher to his younger brother Don Antonio - and his nine year old
daughter, Princess Maria Barbara.
Following her marriage in 1729 to Fernando, Felipe
V’s son (heir to the Spanish throne) Domenico was to remain as her music
master for the rest of his life. The Court in 1729 moved first to Seville, residing in
the Alcazar, ancient palace of Moorish kings.
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This area of Andalusia in Southern Spain is
considered the home of Flamenco, and frequent visits by the court to
major towns afforded ample opportunity for a discerning ear, as Burney
states to, ‘imitate the tunes sung by carriers, muleteers and common
people’. This then, is where Scarlatti first heard the
hypnotic sounds of Andalucian gypsy music that were to become an endless
source of inspiration for many sonatas, all as far as we know, written
for his Royal pupil. The court remained in Seville for four years before
moving northward to Madrid.
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The annual itinerary writes Ralph Kirkpatrick, ‘…was
then divided between the royal residences. Easter, Buen Retiro near
Madrid; Spring and early summer in Aranjuez, the ancient seat of Carlos
V and Felipe II in the Tagus valley between Madrid and Toledo; La Granja,
high up in the Guadarrama mountains toward Segovia; Autumn at the
Escorial on a lonely hillside overlooking the great plain toward Madrid,
– and January to mid-March at the old hunting lodge of the Pardo.’
When Felipe died in 1746, Fernando VI and Queen Maria
Barbara made their state entry into Madrid. Little is known of him during his time in Spain,
although we know that he married twice and had nine children. He was
knighted in 1738 and remained in loyal service until his death on July
23, 1757. It is thought that between 1738 and 1756, Scarlatti wrote the
majority of his keyboard sonatas.
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Between 1752 and 1757, thirteen volumes containing
thirty sonatas in each were copied out for the Queen. Only volume X
contains four extra. To this series of volumes, two others were added
numbered XIV and XV and dated 1742 and 1749. These fifteen volumes were bound in red morocco and
engraved in gold on the front, together with the arms of Spain and
Portugal. The Queen bequeathed these to Farinelli, the famous
castrato singer who carried much favour at the Spanish court.
Some years after his death in 1782, they were housed
in the Biblioteca Marciana, in Venice. These are now referred to as the
Venice manuscripts and constitute the principal source for these
recordings. In addition, a further fifteen duplicate volumes were
copied out mostly by the same copyist, possibly Padre Antonio Soler, who
studied with Scarlatti. These volumes are now housed in the Biblioteca
Palatina, in Parma. Further sonatas have also been discovered and
authenticated (and will be referred to in volume 17) by W. Dean
Sutcliffe, author of The Keyboard Works of Domenico Scarlatti. I am
indeed indebted to him for furnishing copies of manuscripts, which have
enabled me to compile what is to date, the only complete recording of
Scarlatti’s keyboard sonatas. Sonatas in Scarlatti’s hand have completely
disappeared and in fact examples of his writing are scarce.
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