Disc 1 (Venice VI, 1753)
Sonata in F major Andante, K296
[6:30]
Sonata in F major Allegro, K297
[5:10]
Sonata in D major Allegro, K298
[6:30]
Sonata in D major Allegro, K299
[4:00]
Sonata in A major Andante, K300
[3:20]
Sonata in A major Allegro, K301
[5:20]
Sonata in C minor Andante, K302
[4:30]
Sonata in C minor Allegro, K303
[4:00]
Sonata in G major Andante-Cantabile,
K304 [3:30]
Sonata in G major Allegro, K305
[3:30]
Sonata in E flat major Allegro,
K306 [5:00]
Sonata in E flat major Allegro, K307
[3:10]
Sonata in C major Cantabile, K308
[3:00]
Sonata in C major Allegro, K309
[3:50]
Sonata in B flat major Andante, K310
[6:40]
Sonata in B flat major Allegro, K311
[3:50]
Disc 2 (Venice VI, 1753)
Sonata in D major Allegro, K312
[2:00]
Sonata in D major Allegro, K313
[3:40]
Sonata in G major Allegro, K314
[3:20]
Sonata in G minor Allegro, K315
[3:30]
Sonata in F major Allegro, K316
[5:00]
Sonata in F major Allegro, K317
[6:20]
Sonata in F sharp major Andante,
K318 [2:40]
Sonata in F sharp major Allegro,
K319 [3:30]
Sonata in A major Allegro, K320
[4:50]
Sonata in A major Allegro, K321
[3:20]
Sonata in A major Allegro, K322
[3:50]
Sonata in A major Allegro, K323
[2:20]
Sonata in G major Andante, K324
[6:00]
Sonata in G major Allegro, K325
[2:50]
Disc 3 (Venice VII, 1754)
Sonata in C major Allegro, K326
[3:10]
Sonata in C major Allegro, K327
[3:20]
Sonata in G major Andante commodo,
K328 [6:20]
Sonata in C major Allegro, K329
[5:20]
Sonata in C major Allegro, K330
[2:10]
Sonata in B flat major Andante, K331
[3:40]
Sonata in B flat major Allegro, K332
[4:30]
Sonata in D major Allegro - Allegrissimo,
K333 [2:40]
Sonata in B flat major Allegro, K334
[3:10]
Sonata in D major Allegro, K335
[4:10]
Sonata in D major Allegro, K336
[2:50]
Sonata in G major Allegro, K337
[4:10]
Sonata in G major Allegro, K338
[4:10]
Sonata in C major Allegro, K339
[4:10]
Sonata in C major Allegro, K340
[4:20]
Disc 4 (Venice VII, 1754)
Sonata in A minor Allegro, K341
[2:10]
Sonata in A major Allegro, K342
[2:50]
Sonata in A major Allegro - Andante,
K343 [6:00]
Sonata in A major Allegro, K344
[3:50]
Sonata in D major Allegro, K345
[4:40]
Sonata in D major Allegro, K346
[3:00]
Sonata in G minor Moderato e Cantabile,
K347 [5:30]
Sonata in G major Prestissimo, K348
[2:30]
Sonata in F major Allegro, K349
[3:50]
Sonata in F major Allegro, K350
[2:50]
Sonata in B flat major Andante -
Allegrissimo, K351 [3:40]
Sonata in D major Allegro, K352
[4:20]
Sonata in D major Allegro, K353
[2:40]
Sonata in F major Andante, K354
[8:00]
Sonata in F major Allegro, K355
[3:50]
Disc 5 (Venice VIII, 1754)
Sonata in D major Allegro, K358
[4:30]
Sonata in D major Allegrissimo, K359
[3:10]
Sonata in B flat major Alla breve
- Allegro, K360 [4:50]
Sonata in B flat major Allegrissimo,
K361 [3:10]
Sonata in C minor Alla breve - Allegro,
K362 [3:10]
Sonata in C minor Presto, K363
[2:50]
Sonata in F minor Alla breve - Allegro,
K364 [4:10]
Sonata in F minor Allegro, K365
[4:20]
Sonata in F major Allegro, K366
[4:30]
Sonata in F major Presto, K367
[3:00]
Sonata in A major Alla breve - Allegro,
K368 [6:30]
Sonata in A major Allegro, K369 [5:00]
Sonata in E flat major Alla breve
- Allegro, K370 [4:20]
Sonata in E flat major Allegro, K371
[3:50]
Sonata in G major Allegro, K372
[2:50]
Disc 6 (Venice VIII, 1754)
Sonata in G minor Alla breve - Presto
fugato, K373 [3:00]
Sonata in G major Alla breve - Andante,
K374 [3:00]
Sonata in G major Allegro, K375
[3:00]
Sonata in B minor Allegro, K376
[3:50]
Sonata in B minor Allegrissimo, K377
[3:10]
Sonata in F major Alla breve - Allegro,
K378 [4:10]
Sonata in F major Minuet, K379
[3:30]
Sonata in E major Andante commodo,
K380 [6:30]
Sonata in E major Allegro, K381
[4:00]
Sonata in A minor Alla breve - Allegro,
K382 [2:30]
Sonata in A minor Allegro, K383
[3:40]
Sonata in C major Alla breve - Cantabile
- Andante, K384 [2:10]
Sonata in C major Allegro, K385
[4:00]
Sonata in F minor Alla breve - Presto,
K386 [3:20]
Sonata in F minor Veloce e fugato,
K387 [2:20]
These six CDs form
the third volume in a series of seven
that will eventually contain all Domenico
Scarlatti’s keyboard sonatas. This latest
splendid release is wholly consistent
with the extraordinarily high standard
set by Richard Lester in the first two
volumes - and is to be recommended without
reservation.
Volumes I (NI 1725)
and II (NI 1726) have six CDs each and
were released in 2006; Volumes IV, V
and VI (NI 1728, 1729 and 1730) with
six, five and six CDs respectively were
scheduled for this spring; Volume VII
(NI 1731) will comprise three CDs and
is planned for release in the summer
of 2007. So over 550 individual sonatas,
thirty-eight CDs and nearly 40 hours
of wonderful, colourful, varied, energetic
and subtle music.
There is actually no
shortage of such collections: Dantone’s
individual CD volumes on Stradivarius
are part of a worthy competitor series
to Lester’s here. The mammoth undertaking
by Warner Classics (62092) with Scott
Ross is one of a kind, but over 20 years
old - review.
Then there is a Naxos series using the
piano with different pianists for each
CD; but it’s coming out slowly. In fact,
on the evidence so far, it does seem
as though Lester’s playing, when taken
with the immaculate preparation and
presentation of the whole corpus, puts
the Nimbus set at the top of the list.
Scarlatti, born in
Naples in that year of years for music,
1685, did write other music though it’s
the keyboard sonatas – all written for
Maria Barbara, the young daughter of
Portuguese King João V, to whom
Scarlatti was appointed music master
in 1720 - which are of greatest interest.
Just 30 of these appeared in print while
Scarlatti was still living. The rest
were published in Venice by Farinelli,
to whom the now Queen Maria Barbara
bequeathed all the sonatas after Scarlatti’s
death.
Amazingly, it seems
certain that the majority of these wonderful
works were written towards the end of
Scarlatti’s life – between 1738 and
1756. The ‘K’ numbers, which are now
adopted almost universally, are from
the system elaborated by American harpsichordist
Ralph Kirkpatrick (1911-1984) in roughly
chronological order during the 1940s
and 50s. So we’re getting sonatas (K296
– K387) which come from the mid point
in this remarkable output.
It was Kirkpatrick
who wrote ‘Domenico Scarlatti was without
doubt the most original keyboard composer
of his time.’ This originality, this
indefatigable inventiveness, is but
one of the strengths which Lester conclusively
demonstrates. The Scarlatti keyboard
oeuvre is perhaps misunderstood in that
its 'visitors' often expect either progression
in the 'biographical' sense, or an almightily
profound monolithic whole akin to Bach's
cantatas or the Beethoven piano sonatas.
Or, worse, those unfamiliar
with the Scarlatti sonatas expect a
series of ‘samey’ disjointed trivia.
This terrific Nimbus set - and the others
so far released in the series - demonstrates
instead that Scarlatti produced joyous,
varied and entertaining pieces that
are very much of their time; none lasts
more than seven minutes or so, and most
half of that. For something self-contained,
yet containing the world, walk down
the lush, well kempt and meandering
perfumed paths cultivated one after
another in K314 and K 318 to K 320 for
examples of truly vibrant biodiversity!
Lester plays them with the telling and
wholly positive possessiveness of a
true teacher and lover of this wide
and extensive soundscape. As if opening
a case of jewels with pride, yet no
hint of bombast or arrogance.
These sonatas look
in a variety of directions for their
inspiration and impact: in 1729 the
Portuguese court moved to Andalusia,
where Scarlatti heard folk and gypsy
music - the ‘tunes of carriers, muleteers
and common people’ as Burney put it.
These influences are apparent in such
sonatas as K298 (which is reminiscent
of the Spanish mandolin-like bandurria),
K315 and K321. K333 begins sounding
like a village band and becomes more
and more frenzied.
Richard Lester's teachers
were Bernard Roberts and George Malcolm;
earlier single volumes of the Scarlatti
sonatas by Lester, who is a respected
academic and writer in the UK and abroad,
have been understandably very well received.
His playing is light of touch and detached
to the extent that the music speaks
for itself; and at the same time intense
and poetic.
Without empathy with
the spirit of the sonatas, so substantial
are they that it would be difficult
to sustain freshness over such a long
haul. Lester does – and without any
kind of superficial reaching for novelty
for its own sake. There are effects
– vernacular, imitative (listen to the
‘bells’ in K298), romantic, sacred,
improvisatory (listen to K314, K 317
and 318), militaristic (K380) and –
ever present – the dance (many in the
K330s and K340s, for example). All are
carried off with vigour and a certain
suaveness that does the music proud.
Lester’s gift is to
present the sonatas as carefully crafted
jewels; he’s immersed in the structure,
sonorities and melodic invention of
each and every one. As a result you
never tire of hearing what’s coming
next. There is the feeling of a series
of ‘studies’ in the same way that you
have with Bach’s 48. Truly, that’s
more a sense of unity and cohesion than
anything dry and forced. But Lester’s
playing is so unself-consciously careful,
delicate without being either clipped
or brittle – and oh so poised.
The harpsichord is
by Michael Cole after José Joachim
Antunes (1785) with A tuned to 415;
the organ (for K 328, Disc 3) is that
of All Saints Church Freiern Barnet,
which was built in 1984 with a specification
similar to the instrument of the Chapel
of the Royal Palace in Madrid.
Surprisingly for such
a major undertaking there’s no accompanying
documentation of any substance – indeed
all that comes with this issue is a
dozen page booklet with less than half
devoted to descriptive text, although
this is written by Lester. That’s a
minor cavil: dedicated listeners are
referred to The Keyboard Sonatas
of Domenico Scarlatti and Eighteenth-Century
Musical Style (ISBN: 0521481406)
for a completer picture. Meanwhile,
it’s hard not to be enthusiastic about
this set – so enthusiastic, in fact,
as to be impatient for Volume IV.
Mark Sealey
Richard Lester (harpsichord and organ)
