Domenico Scarlatti: 17 sonatas

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Editor's Info:
The activity in the house of the very young Domenico had to be full of a frenetic musical activity. The commitments of his father, the great Alessandro Scarlatti, decided the daily rhythm of the home, librettists were received, rehearsals were organized, scores were corrected, instruments were tuned.

In spite of the tremendous relevance that the Neapolitan conservatories had for their very complete musical training, there is no evidence that Domenico was attached to any of them, his family and especially his father took up part of his time in the young man's musical education. Alessandro always cared for the education of his children, and especially for Domenico's. The tremendous fame of the father eclipsed the growing talent of the son, for that reason Alessandro decided to involve Domenico in all those moments that would somehow serve to build the future composer: Florence, Venice, Rome, ... Vivaldi, Gasparini, Corelli, Pasquini , ... Ottoboni, The Academies, ... all those ingredients offered on a platter by the father distilled the taste and training of a musician who, when he was 34 years old, decided to abandon a magnificent post at the Vatican (for which many others had sold his soul) to go beyond the seas in the uncertainty of a future far from Italy.

During his life, Domenico Scarlatti always stood in the background, in the shadow of events, without the slightest desire protagonist. Creator of fifteen operas, dozens of arias, duets, cantatas, oratorios and several religious works, his 555 harpsichord sonatas support to date the full weight of his fame as a composer. Burney leaves us this revealing testimony: "a grave young man dressed in black and in a black wig, who had stood in one corner of the room, very attentive" It seems that Scarlatti was a very introverted character, with a volcano inside him that react when he sits at the harpsichord.

Everything, absolutely everything is thought from the perspective of a musician who dedicated his life to playing the harpsichord, as noted by Burney "disinterested by the common occupations and very addicted to play", a HARPSICHORDIST with capital letters, a "maestro del cembalo" a perfectionist of the touch, passionate by the harpsichord sonority, a talent only comparable to John Bull, William Byrd or Francois Couperin, in the words of Genoveva Gálvez "glory of the Mediterranean". In his sonatas you can hear the echoes of L'Armonico Pratico al Cimbalo by Gasparini, the melodic prose of Corelli, the tradition of the Neapolitan Partimenti, the joy of the Seville streets, the indolence of the Madrid palaces, the humble, the pretentious, the outdated and the eternal.


Andrés Alberto Gómez - Bio:
He finished his harpsichord studies at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague (Holland) as a student of Jacques Ogg and at the Escuela Superior de Música de Cataluna, E.S.M.U.C. as a student of Béatrice Martin, obtaining the highest distinction and congratulations from the jury. He has made recordings for the Dutch Radio, the Slovenian Radio-television, WDR 3, Radio Catalonia, the Polish Radio-television and the labels ARSIS, PASSACAILLE, DYNAMIC, TANIDOS and VANITAS.

He is founder and director of the ensemble La Reverencia. His performances as soloist and continuist cover all of Europe. He has performed with several renowned ensembles such as Les Arts Florissants, Tasto Solo or La Fura dels Baus, being directed by musicians such as William Christie, Paul Dombrecht, Paul McCreesh, Roy Goodman, Richard Egarr or Ton Koopman.

In 2013 he recorded together with La Reverencia De Oculta Philosophia, a documentary film around Baroque music that was selected at numerous international festivals. His discography has always received the best criticism from the specialized press.


“Andrés Alberto Gómez has an unusual touch control. Adapt his articulation to phrasing with the mastery of the greatest”.
Philippe Ramin, Diapason (5 diapason)