The Classical Music Book

90

DO NOT EXPECT ANY

PROFOUND INTENTION,

BUT RATHER AN INGENIOUS

JESTING WITH ART

SONATA IN D MINOR, K. 9 “PASTORALE” (1738),

DOMENICO SCARLATTI

IN CONTEXT

FOCUS

Italian Baroque sonata

BEFORE

1701 Baroque composer

Arcangelo Corelli publishes

his Violin Sonatas, Op. 5—

an early example of solo

instrumental writing.

1709 Antonio Vivaldi

publishes Twelve Sonatas for

Violin and Basso Continuo,

Op. 2, again showcasing

the virtuosic abilities of a

solo instrument.

AFTER

1784 Mozart publishes Piano

Sonata No. 1, K279, following

in Scarlatti’s footsteps with his

focus on solo keyboard writing.

1795 Beethoven publishes

Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 2,

continuing Scarlatti’s

experimentation with

the genre.

A family poses with their harpsichord

in a 1739 work by Cornelis Troost. The

instrument’s popularity would soon

wane in favor of the piano.

T

he Italian virtuoso

harpsichord player and

composer Domenico

Scarlatti published his first edition

of Essercizi per gravicembalo

(“Exercises for Harpsichord”) in 1738.

As the title of the collection suggests,

the 30 sonatas were intended to

be études (studies) for students

of the harpsichord—although by

Scarlatti’s own admission, the

originality of their content belies

their seemingly mundane and

practical purpose.

A contemporary of both J.S.

Bach and George Frideric Handel,

Scarlatti’s dazzling skills on the

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