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Domenico SCARLATTI (1685-1757) The Complete Sonatas, Volume V CD 1 - Venice XII (1757)
K484-498 CD 2- Venice XII (1757)
K499-4513
CD 3 - Venice XIII (1757)
K514-29 CD 4 - Venice XIII (1757)
K530-43 CD 5- The Continuo Sonatas
K78, 88-91
(see end of review for full details) Alessandro SCARLATTI (1660-1725) *
Sinfonia in C minor Largo, [1:56]
Sinfonia in C minor Allegro, [1:15]
Sinfonia in C minor Sarabande, [1:45]
Sinfonia in C minor Allegro, [1:07] George Frideric HANDEL (1685-1759) *
Sonata in F major Allegro, HWV405 [2:03]
Sonata in F major Grave, HWV405 [1:43]
Sonata in F major Allegro, HWV405 [2:05]
Richard
Lester (harpsichord and fortepiano)
Academia Musicali*: Elizabeth Lester
(treble recorder); Nerys Evans (descant and treble recorder)
rec: October, 2004, Wisteria Lodge, Cirencester, Gloucestershire,
England. DDD NIMBUS
RECORDS NI1729 [5 CDs: 70:25 + 61:45 + 64:28
+ 62:04 + 46:34]
Reviews on MusicWeb of earlier volumes in this series (see reviews
of Volumes
3
[NI1727] and 6
[NI1730])
have been wholly positive. Of the seven projected sets in
what is a huge undertaking – 550 keyboard sonatas in all
- five have so far been released. Volume V (Venice XII – XIII,
1756-7) is equally deserving of the highest praise and can
be unreservedly recommended for lovers of this intriguing
and evocative repertoire in general, as much as for those
(already) ‘collecting’ Scarlatti.
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) wrote most of these wonderful
and inventive sonatas for his pupil, princess (then queen)
Maria Barbara, over many years. On his death she bequeathed
them in a set of fifteen volumes to the famous castrato Farinelli.
By 1782 – some years after Farinelli’s own death – they
were to be found in the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice. Hence
the naming. Whilst respecting and following Ralph Kirkpatrick’s ‘K’ catalogue
for these recordings, Nimbus and Lester have chosen to subdivide
the entire oeuvre according to these Venice volumes.
This set, Volume V, has reached the twelfth and thirteenth
volumes; they were also preserved in duplicate by the same
copyist as the Biblioteca Marciana set, probably Padre Antonio
Soler. These are mature and varied works increasingly lyrical
and even freely romantic at times. They are expertly played
by Lester – again on a harpsichord
by Michael Cole after José Joachim Antunes (1785) with A
tuned to 415.
Discs
1 to 4 contain sixty sonatas (K484 – K543) of great wit,
beauty, originality and colour. Lester’s playing is as fresh
and yet thoughtful as you could want. It’s likely that you’ll
listen to them, perhaps disc by disc; what you’ll hear is
a superb performer approaching each one with considered enthusiasm,
and delight. Yet the presentation of each work is clearly
the result of much study and familiarity; these bring extra
insight. You quickly appreciate that each sonata has its
own logic, references itself and its world and can lay separate
claim to our attention. The rationale for and execution of
each piece is handled by Lester, almost, with a kind of informed
and cohesive humility – rather than as one of series to be
pulled off the shelf, heard and stored for future curiosity.
In
these works the dance is everywhere. Scarlatti’s obvious
delight at the apparent anomaly between an accomplished dancer’s
ability to leap and yet retain his/her poise is evident particularly
in K487, 489, 491, 494, 500, 502, 504, 506, 510 and 512,
for example. Many of the sonatas are shot through with arpeggios,
runs up and down the scale and huge jumps in range. The rhythms
and tone of Spanish folk music permeate the music; they clearly
made an impression on the composer as he lived and worked
in Spain for so long and had opportunities to travel with
the court throughout the peninsular. But this world was absorbed
and integrated into the sonatas such that they have a life
of their own.
To
hear about the breadth and vividness of Scarlatti’s
sonatas might be to characterise them as ‘charming’; which
far from does them justice. To overhear them ought
at least to be to sense Scarlatti’s virtuosity. Lester’s
playing is more apposite. It communicates their centres and
origins. Not that he lacks technique, or shuns virtuosic
exposition (listen to the sonatas in the 510s!). But the
tempi he adopts and the extremely precise control of texture
and timing combined make these discs much more satisfying
than a recital of a series of showpieces would be.
The
number of sonatas about which something special needs to
be said has increased by the time we get to this volume… K485
has the widest range (F1 – g3) of any in the entire corpus.
K490, 491 and 492 represent a Passiontide festival and pack
a remarkable amount of figurative colour into solo keyboard
music. K491 and 494 make extraordinary use of changes of
key; while K502 and 504 bring us similarly up short for their
almost violent changes of rhythm and tempo.
Also
of note is the he variety of mood in this set – from the
energetic (K497 and K517) to the reflective (K498, 499, 500,
516); from the imitative (K429) to works redolent of a particular
feature of contemporary life (K513 and Christmas); from the
pathetic and self-deprecating (K515, 526) to purely scintillating
(K526, 531).
Disc
5 is unusual for this Nimbus set of solo keyboard sonatas:
it contains the K78, 81, 88, 89, 90, 91 Trio sonatas and
Alessandro Scarlatti’s Sinfonia in C Minor with – variously
(see listing at top of page) - Elizabeth Lester (treble recorder)
and Nerys Evans (descant recorder); and Handel’s Sonata in
F Major (HWV 405). Although it’s unknown for sure which instrumentation
Scarlatti intended for these works, the use of a figured
bass and highly worked original melodic line suggest a solo
instrument like the violin. The Sinfonia (really another
name for ‘sonata’) by Domenico’s father, Alessandro, is well-played
and provides contrast; although the recorders are closely
miked and are forward of the harpsichord such that an odd – and
rather dry and clinical – balance is the result.
The
inclusion of these pieces here – and that of the Handel sonata
from that composer’s time in Italy (1706 – 1710) – seems
to follow from the fact that they too may well have been
performed at regular weekly concerts at the Palazzo della
Cancelleria, home of Roman patron of the arts, cardinal Pietro
Ottoboni.
The same minor criticism can be levelled fairly at this
set as at previous ones … the absence of a really good booklet
accompanying the discs. Given the size and scope of the enterprise,
the brief notes on several - but by no means all – of the
sonatas, really do leave one wanting more. So you will want
to supplement just ten pages of description and three of
listings with a book like The
Keyboard Sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti and Eighteenth-Century
Musical Style (ISBN: 0521481406).
It appears, by the way, that a mastering fault (plops and
cracks towards the end of CD four) may have affected a small
batch of CDs. If the version you have exhibits this fault,
contact Nimbus directly for a replacement.
If you want to experience the shimmering warmth of eighteenth
century Spain, the elegance, vibrancy and somewhat rough-edged
spirit of the court; and at the same time learn the intricate
subtleties and profundities of Scarlatti’s seemingly endless
invention, then buy this also very reasonably-priced set.
Mark Sealey
Disc 1 - Venice XII (1757)
Sonata in D major Allegro, K484 [3:19]
Sonata in C major Alla breve - Andante e cantabile, K485 [3:26]
Sonata in C major Alla breve - Allegro, K486 [5:08]
Sonata in C major Allegro, K487 [4:28]
Sonata in B flat major Alla breve - Allegro, K488 [4:08]
Sonata in B flat major Allegro, K489 [3:55]
Sonata in D major Alla breve - Cantabile, K490 [5:24]
Sonata in D major Allegro, K491 [5:27]
Sonata in D major Presto, K492 [4:03]
Sonata in G major Alla breve - Allegro, K493 [6:02]
Sonata in G major Allegro, K494 [6:08]
Sonata in E major Alla breve - Allegro, K495 [5:09]
Sonata in E major Allegro, K496 [6:13]
Sonata in B minor Alla breve - Allegro, K497 [3:46]
Sonata in B minor Allegro, K498 [3:12] Disc 2- Venice XII (1757)
Sonata in A major Alla breve - Andante, K499 [3:04]
Sonata in A major Allegro, K500 [5:02]
Sonata in C major Alla breve - Allegretto, K501 [7:06]
Sonata in C major Allegro, K502 [4:18]
Sonata in B flat major Alla breve - Allegretto, K503 [4:14]
Sonata in B flat major Allegro, K504 [3:04]
Sonata in F major Alla breve - Allegro non presto, K505 [3:06]
Sonata in F major Allegro, K506 [3:22]
Sonata in E flat major Andantino cantabile, K507 [4:02]
Sonata in E flat major Allegro, K508 [6:04]
Sonata in D major Alla breve - Allegro, K509 [4:08]
Sonata in D minor Allegro, K510 [2:52]
Sonata in D major Alla breve - Allegro, K511 [2:48]
Sonata in D major Allegro, K512 [3:24]
Sonata in C major Pastorale: Moderato - Molto Allegro - presto, K513 [3:48] Disc 3- Venice XIII (1757)
Sonata in C major Allegro, K514 [3:32]
Sonata in C major Allegro, K515 [3:31]
Sonata in D minor Allegretto, K516 [6:35]
Sonata in D minor Prestissimo, K517 [3:17]
Sonata in F major Allegro, K518 [7:02]
Sonata in F minor Allegro assai, K519 [2:59]
Sonata in G major Allegretto, K520 [4:03]
Sonata in G major Allegro, K521 [4:14]
Sonata in G major Allegro, K522 [4:05]
Sonata in G major Allegro, K523 [2:31]
Sonata in F major Allegro, K524 [2:53]
Sonata in F major Allegro, K525 [3:11]
Sonata in C minor Allegro commodo, K526 [6:13]
Sonata in C major Allegro assai, K527 [4:11]
Sonata in B flat major Allegro, K528 [3:23]
Sonata in B flat major Allegro, K529 [2:21] Disc 4- Venice XIII (1757)
Sonata in E major Allegro, K530 [4:22]
Sonata in E major Allegro, K531 [4:14]
Sonata in A minor Allegro, K532 [4:24]
Sonata in A major Allegro assai, K533 [3:14]
Sonata in D major Cantabile, K534 [2:58]
Sonata in D major Allegro, K535 [3:12]
Sonata in A major Cantabile, K536 [3:23]
Sonata in A major Prestissimo, K537 [3:39]
Sonata in G major Allegretto, K538 [4:11]
Sonata in G major Allegro, K539 [6:44]
Sonata in F major Allegretto, K540 [4:03]
Sonata in F major Allegretto, K541 [4:57]
Sonata in F minor Allegretto, K542 [6:42]
Sonata in F major Allegro, K543 [5:34] Disc 5- The Continuo Sonatas
Sonata in D minor Grave, K90 [2:45]*
Sonata in D minor Allegro, K90 [4:45]*
Sonata in D minor Allegro, K90 [1:08]*
Sonata in D minor Allegro, K90 [0:59]*
Sonata in D minor Allegro, K89 [3:56]*
Sonata in D minor Grave, K89 [1:16]*
Sonata in D minor Allegro, K89 [2:29]*
Sonata in G major Grave, K91 [1:32]*
Sonata in G major Allegro, K91 [4:01]*
Sonata in G major Grave, K91 [1:15]*
Sonata in G major Allegro, K91 [2:21]*
Sonata in G major Giga Allegro, K78 [1:34]*
Sonata in G major Minuet, K78 [0:45]*
Sonata in E minor Grave, K81 [1:04]*
Sonata in E minor Allegro, K81 [3:26]*
Sonata in E minor Grave, K81 [2:51]*
Sonata in E minor Allegro, K81 [1:35]*
Sonata in G minor Grave, K88 [2:14]*
Sonata in G minor Andante moderato, K88 [2:08]*
Sonata in G minor Andante moderato, K88 [1:39]*
Sonata in G minor Allegro, K88 [1:02]*
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