Domenico Scarlatti Research Articles

The little-known Francesco Scarlatti

I am grateful to Michael Talbot for including me among ‘the modern authorities on the Scarlattis‘ along with two giants of the stature of Edward J. Dent and Ralph Kirkpatrick. Thanks to the important documents discovered by Andrea Sommer Mathis (published in Artigrama: Revista del Departamento de Historia del Arte, University of Zaragoza, xii (1996–7), pp.61–3), Francesco Scarlatti the man is a bit less ‘unknown’ than he appears from Prof. Talbot's review. I have taken note of this in updating my biography of Alessandro and Domenico Scarlatti, which will be published in English by Pendragon Press, but I would not wish to fail to indicate the new information to readers of Early music. As far as the music is concerned, I would like to explain that its exclusion from the five programmes of the Scarlatti Festival held at Palermo between 1999 and 2003 was not deliberate: the Miserere which Mr Hair kindly sent me already suggested the timely possibility of filling so large a gap of information, now happily reduced by the publication of the CD reviewed by Prof. Talbot: even if the quality of the music had not been judged so positively, it would have been extremely interesting to offer the public performances of works undoubtedly composed in Palermo in those years for which other musical works must be considered irretrievably lost. We made some plans, but the void produced by the death of Malcolm Boyd made it extremely difficult to realize these possibilities. Now the suspension of the festival—a sad reflection of the crisis currently affecting all Italian musical institutions—has at least momentarily put off the possibility of bringing the music of Francesco Scarlatti back to Sicily, but I am sure that the details furnished by Prof. Talbot, with his specialist and widely recognized expertise, will encourage further interest in these works, even if their limited number offers little hope that Francesco will free himself from his role of ‘brother to the famous Alessandro Scarlatti’.

The Keyboard Sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti and Eighteenth-Century Musical Style (review)

INSTRUMENTS AND INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC The Keyboard Sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti and Eighteenth-Century Musical Style. By W. Dean Sutcliffe. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003. [xi, 400 p. ISBN 0-521-48140-6. $75.] Music examples, bibliography, index. Domenico Scarlatti is the greatest Spanish composer Italy has ever produced. He often inspires such curious contradictions, and aspects of his life and works remain controversial and elusive. Performers and scholars will therefore always welcome any new information and insight on this unique figure. W. Dean Sutcliffe's book represents substantial contribution to the field. The author offers comprehensive survey of the literature, an excellent account of the problems posed by the lack of sources (especially autographs), and an unflinching confrontation with the question of placing the sonatas in pairs (he is clearly not an advocate). Sutcliffe addresses issues of performance practice, explores the influence of Spanish folk music, and examines other factors that, taken together, determine how we hear and play Scarlatti's music. He justly questions the existence of four separate numbering systems for the sonatas (Longo, Kirkpatrick, Fadini, and Pestelli), and he accurately describes the extent to which the Austro-German focus of musicology has distorted the analysis and reception of Scarlatti. This problem, I might add, has also been true for other latinate composers, such as Francois Couperin and the French clavecinistes. Sutcliffe therefore covers considerable ground with the skill of an experienced scholar, but several aspects of this book diminish the impact of this otherwise valuable study. The most troubling is the uncomfortable impression that Sulcliffe has deep suspicions, if not downright antipathy, about characteristics of Scarlatti's essential compositional style. This includes the hallmark use of repeated chords, his unconventional voice leading, the rapid tempos of the majority of the sonatas, and the composer's predilection for phrase repetition and unusual formal structures. Sutcliffe's tendency to express his reservations in what I consider to be overly harsh terms exacerbates the problem. To cite few instances, he complains that the voice leading of K. 277 is crude (p. 14), and the consecutive fourths [in K. 254, have] an obviously ugly effect (p. 16). Scarlatti's gigantic sequences can be . . . infuriating and upsetting (p. 121), and his repeated chords and passages are described as idiot repetitions (p. 283) that lest our tolerance levels. My tolerance level was cerlainly tested when he hinted at some dark psychological disturbance lurking beneath these musical gestures. Writing that many forms of irrational conduct or mental illness involve repetitive behavior (p. 158), Sutcliffe suggests that were we to speculate on Scarlatti's character from the evidence of the music, we might imagine it to have been unstable or even schizophrenic (p. 35). Although I am sure this was not the author's intention, the conclusion one draws from such inflammatory statements is that he considers Scarlalli's music to be crude, ugly, compulsive, and perhaps even menially unbalanced. Sutcliffe's harsh tone often extends to his criticism of number of eminent scholars and performers, especially Ralph Kirkpatrick. Is it really appropriate, or accurate, to describe the work of this distinguished Scarlattian as incredible, if not absurd (p. 43), or to accuse him of being guilty of a fabrication? (p. vii n. 1). In an amusing twist, the author unwittingly echoes Kirkpatrick on several occasions, such as the comparison of Scarlatti's harmonic practices to those of Igor Stravinsky. Kirkpatrick once shared conversation with me that he had had with Stravinsky during rehearsals for the premiere of The Rake's Progress, in which the great Russian composer personally acknowledged the similarities between his compositional style and that of Scarlatti. …

The keyboard sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti and eighteenth-century music style

The keyboard sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti and eighteenth-century music style

Tolomeo, Re d'Egitto: Dramma per musica in tre atti, HWV 25, (review)

Georg Friedrich Handel. Tolomeo, Re d'Egitto: Dramma per musica in tre atti, HWV 25. Herausgegeben von Michael Pacholke. (Hallische Handel-Ausgabe. Ser II: Opern, Bd. 22.) Kassel: Barenreiter, 2000. [Editorial policy, pref. in Ger., Eng., p. vi-xvi; list of performances and casts, concordances, p. xvii--xix; facsims., p. xx--xxiv; Libretto-Druck (London, 1728), p. xxv--xl; Ger. trans. of libretto, p. xli--xlix; score, 157 p.; appendix, p. 159-268; Erit. Bericht, p. 269-325. Cloth. ISMN M-006-49567-2; BA 4058. [euto]242.] Georg Friedrich Handel. Tolomeo, Re di Egitto: Dramma per musica in tre atti, HWV 25. Libretto: Niccolo Francesco Haym nach Carlo Sigismondo Capece; Klavierauszug nach dem Urtext der Hallischen Handel-Ausgabe von Michael Pacholke. Kassel: Barenreiter, c1996. [Index of scenes, cast, scoring, 3 p.; vocal score, 205 p. ISMN M-006-49932-8; BA 4058a. [euro]38.35.] Tolomeo, re d'Egitto is an almost tautological title: most Egyptian kings who descended from the heirs of Alexander the Great were called Ptolomy. The elusive hero of George Frideric Handel's opera, Ptolomy IX Soter (not to be confused with his famous namesake from the time of Julius Caesar), ruled between 116 and 81 B.C., but with interruptions caused by his jealous mother Cleopatra III and his younger brother Ptolomy X Alexander I. The opera's libretto weaves an invented story around these historical personalities and adds some fictitious characters. It reinterprets history to aid the moral edification of a contemporary courtly society, depicting people as forlorn souls who wander in the park and express their woes in poetry and music. First performed on 30 April 1728, when support for Italian opera was dwindling in London, Tolomeo was the last opera created for the Royal Academy of Music. Nicola Francesco Haym derived the libretto from a dramma per musica by Carlo Sigismondo Capece (or Capeci), Tolomeo ed Alessandro, ovvero La corona disprezzata, first performed with music by Domenico Scarlatti in Rome in 1711 for Maria Casimira, ex-queen of Poland (as I first documented in Handel und seine italienischen Operntexte, Handel-Jahrbuch 21/22 [1975-76]: 101-59). The opera paid homage to the sons of Maria Casimira by paralleling Ptolomy's kingdom with that of the Sobieski dynasty of Poland; members of the Arcadian Academy wrote celebratory poems in honor of the poet, performers, and patrons of the Roman opera (see my essay Scarlattiana at Yale, in e gli Scarlatti a Roma: Atti del convegno internazionale di studi (Roma, 12-14 giugno 1985), ed. Nino Pirrotta and Agostino Ziino [Florence: Olschki, 1987], 115-17). I have analyzed i n detail the dramaturgy and poetic character of Capece's original libretto, and its adaptation by Haym and Handel, in the chapter Tolomeo: Handel's Opera and the Rules of Tragedy of my monograph Dramma per musica: Italian Opera Seria of the Eighteenth Century (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997, pp. 201-19; originally published as Handel-Oper und Regeldrama, in Zur Dramaturgie der Barockoper: Bericht uber die Symposien der Internationalen Handel-Akademie Karlsruhe, 1992 und 1993, ed. Hans Joachim Marx, Veroffentlichungen der Internationalen Handel-Akademie Karlsruhe, 5 [Laaber: Laaber-Verlag, 1994], 33-54). Oddly, the introduction to the new edition by Michael Pacholke does not mention any of these contributions to the scholarship on Handel's Tolomeo. The other opera by Gapece and Scarlatti composed for Maria Casimira in 1711, L 'Orlando, ovvero La gelosa pazzia, was the source libretto for Handel's opera Orlando (1733). Haym owned both of the 1711 librettos and might have envisaged adapting Orlando as well, but he died in 1729. Capece had conceived both operas as pastorals or pastoral-heroic works in the taste of Roman Arcadian circles of the time. Haym expanded upon this aesthetic in his libretto for Tolomeo by increasing the number of arias in which a suffering lover either addresses or compares himself to Nature. …

Domenico Scarlatti and his Cantabile Sonatas

The term Cantabile appears in the principal sources (Parma and Venice) of nearly twenty keyboard sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti. The characteristics of these sonatas are examined alongside the explanations of Cantabile given by the Italian eighteenth-century musicians Tartini and Tosi. The recurrence in these sonatas of specific types of ornamentation and notated tempo rubato is discussed, as well as implications for the choice of instrument. The findings of J. H. van der Meer's 1997 article ‘The Keyboard String Instruments at the Disposal of Domenico Scarlatti’ are considered, particularly his analysis of keyboard ranges with regard to available types of harpsichord and piano. This raises the relationship of these sonatas to the pianos available to Scarlatti first in Italy, then in Lisbon and Spain. But it is possible too that his concept of Cantabile is a style of composing that can be realised in harpsichord performance.

Domenico Scarlatti Festival in Boston

Journal Article Domenico Scarlatti Festival in Boston Get access Howard Schott Howard Schott Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Early Music, Volume XXVI, Issue 4, November 1998, Pages 699–700, https://doi.org/10.1093/earlyj/XXVI.4.699 Published: 01 November 1998

Comments on “A consonance-based approach to the harpsichord tuning of Domenico Scarlatti” [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 101, 2332–2337 (1997)

Issue is taken with the finding that Domenico Scarlatti probably used a harpsichord tuning with no wolf fifth. Arguments indicating that he used a tuning with a substantial wolf are presented.

Response to “Comments on ‘A consonance-based approach to the harpsichord tuning of Domenico Scarlatti’ ” [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 103, 1680 (1998)

This Letter briefly responds to Carl Sloane’s arguments regarding Scarlatti’s use of wolf fifths. It is believed that the historical record is sufficiently unclear that firm conclusions are not possible.

A consonance-based approach to the harpsichord tuning of Domenico Scarlatti

This paper discusses a quantitative method for the study of historical keyboard instrument tunings that is based on a measure of the perceived dissonance of the intervals in a tuning and their frequency of occurrence in the compositions of Domenico Scarlatti (1685–1757). We conclude that the total dissonance of a large volume of music is a useful tool for studies of keyboard instrument tuning in a historical musical context, although it is insufficient by itself. Its use provides significant evidence that Scarlatti used French tunings of his period during the composition of his sonatas. Use of total dissonance to optimize a 12-tone tuning for a historical body of music can produce musically valuable results, but must at present be tempered with musical judgment, in particular to prevent overspecialization of the intervals.

The Keyboard String Instruments at the Disposal of Domenico Scarlatti

The Keyboard String Instruments at the Disposal of Domenico Scarlatti

Girl Writing a Letter

A thief drives to the museum in his black van. The night watchman says Sorry, closed, you have to come back tomorrow. The thief sticks the point of his knife in the guard's ear. I haven't got all evening, he says, I need some art. Art is for pleasure, the guard says, not possession, you can't something, and then the duct tape is going across his mouth. Don't worry, the thief says, we're both on the same side. He finds the Dutch Masters and goes right for a Vermeer: Writing a Letter. The thief knows what he's doing. He has a Ph.D. He slices the canvas on one edge from the shelf holding the salad bowls right down to the square of sunlight on the black and white checked floor. The girl doesn't hear this, she's too absorbed in writing her letter, she doesn't notice him until too late. He's in the picture. He's already seated at the harpsichord. He's playing the G Minor Sonata by Domenico Scarlatti, which once made her heart beat till it passed the harpsichord and raced ahead and waited for the music to catch up. She's worked on this letter for three hundred and twenty years. Now a man's here, and though he's dressed in some weird clothes, he's playing the harpsichord for her, for her alone, there's no one else alive in the museum. The man she was writing to is dead? time to stop thinking about him?the artist who painted her is dead. She should be dead herself, only she has an ear for music and a heart that's running up the staircase of the Gardner Museum with a man she's only known for a few minutes, but it's true, it feels like her whole life. So when the thief hands her the knife and says you slice the paintings out of their frames, you roll them up, she does it; when he says you put another strip of duct tape over the guard's mouth so he'll stop talking about aesthetics, she tapes him, and when the thief puts her behind the wheel and says, drive, baby, the night is ours, it is the Girl Writing a Letter who steers the black van on to the westbound ramp for Storrow Drive

A FRENCH BONBON FOR THE SPANISH BOURBONS: ROYER'S "ZAÏDE, REINE DE GRENADE"

In 1700, the Spanish throne was ascended by a French prince, Philippe d'Anjou, as Felipe V. Perhaps the young king saw the achievements of the Spanish Golden Age, just past, as a challenge, for he soon produced a series of initiatives in the arts paralleling those of his illustrious grandfather, Louis XIV of France. During his 46-year reign, Felipe opened the royal library in Madrid and established the academies of Language, History, and Fine Arts as well as of Medicine. The musicians at his court included Henri Desmarest, who composed music for his wedding, the castrati Farinelli and Caffarelli, and, most celebrated of all, Domenico Scarlatti.1

DOMENICO SCARLATTI AND HIS SON ALEXANDRO'S INHERITANCE

DOMENICO SCARLATTI AND HIS SON ALEXANDRO'S INHERITANCE BERYL KENYON DE PASCUAL BERYL KENYON DE PASCUAL Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Music and Letters, Volume 69, Issue 1, January 1988, Pages 23–29, https://doi.org/10.1093/ml/69.1.23 Published: 01 January 1988

Ramanujan—100 years old (fashioned) or 100 years new (fangled)?

Everyone enjoys celebrating birthdays. Admittedly, as we get older, perhaps we enjoy celebrating others' birthdays more than our own. We also rejoice in commemorating the birthdays of many that have gone before us. Recalling their achievements and deeds provides needed inspiration for our own lives, and gives direction to our endeavors. In 1985, the musical world celebrated the birth tercentenaries of three grea t composers , Johann Sebast ian Bach, George ,Fr ider ic Handel, and Domenico Scarlatti. Musical celebr~itions occurred throughout the western world, and lectures and articles examined their accomplishments and inf luence on music in the ensuing years after their deaths. The year 1987 marks the birth centenaries of two profoundly influential mathematicians, Erich Hecke and Srinivasa Ramanujan. It is undoubtedly easier to assess the influence of Hecke than of Ramanujan, for much of what Ramanujan accomplished has not been verified, or has not been published, or is still not understood. We make no pretense that we can clarify this situation in this short article, but perhaps readers will gain a greater apprec ia t ion for Ramanujan ' s achievements. The career of Ramanujan was so disparate that it cannot be compared with that of any other mathematician, but, interestingly, there are some similarities with the career of Bach (of course, at a more superficial level), which we will briefly delineate in the course of this article. In fact, because of Bach's inexorable calculated polyphony and planned methodical approach, he was often called the "mathematical" Bach.

RECORDINGS

Journal Article RECORDINGS Get access Domenico Scarlatti SONATAS K380–81, 27, 446, 141, 550–51, 263–4, 318–19, 417 Maggie Cole (Kirckman and Ruckers harpsichords) Amon Ra SAR 27 (rec 1986) John Caldwell John Caldwell Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Early Music, Volume XV, Issue 3, August 1987, Pages 427-b–429, https://doi.org/10.1093/earlyj/XV.3.427-b Published: 01 August 1987

REVIEWS OF BOOKS

Journal Article REVIEWS OF BOOKS Get access Domenico Scarlatti—Master of Music. By Malcolm Boyd. pp. xi + 302. ( Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1986, £20.) PETER WILLIAMS PETER WILLIAMS Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Music and Letters, Volume 68, Issue 4, October 1987, Pages 372–374, https://doi.org/10.1093/ml/68.4.372 Published: 01 October 1987

Domenico Scarlatti: Tercentenary Frustrations (Part II)

Journal Article Domenico Scarlatti: Tercentenary Frustrations (Part II) Get access JOEL SHEVELOFF JOEL SHEVELOFF Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The Musical Quarterly, Volume LXXII, Issue 1, 1986, Pages 90–118, https://doi.org/10.1093/mq/LXXII.1.90 Published: 01 January 1986

BOOKS

Journal Article BOOKS Get access Domenico Scarlatti RALPH KIRXPATRICK Revised edition Princeton University Press,, 1983 E41.6O, paperback £10.40 Jane Clark Jane Clark Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Early Music, Volume 13, Issue 2, May 1985, Pages 283-a–283, https://doi.org/10.1093/earlyj/13.2.283-a Published: 01 May 1985

MUSIC

Journal Article MUSIC Get access Sonates Vol.1 (KI-52) DOMENICO SCARLATTI Edited by Kenneth Gilbert Heugel. Paris. 1984 (Le Pupitre, xxxi), £38.20 Essercizi per Gravicembalo 1738-9) DEMENICO SCARLATTI Facsimile, with introduction by Roy Howat Stil Editions, Fontenay-sous-bios, 1977, £22.70 Howard Schott Howard Schott Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Early Music, Volume 13, Issue 1, February 1985, Pages 97–99, https://doi.org/10.1093/earlyj/13.1.97 Published: 01 February 1985

Domenico Scarlatti and Spanish folk music

Journal Article Domenico Scarlatti and Spanish folk music Get access JANE CLARK JANE CLARK Jane Clark, who broadcasts regularly on the BBC, will be giving an iUustrated lecture on Scarlatti as part of the English Bach Festival in May 1976. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Early Music, Volume 4, Issue 1, January 1976, Pages 19–21, https://doi.org/10.1093/earlyj/4.1.19 Published: 01 January 1976