The music on this album takes a little bit of explanation that the words "Concerti Grossi After Scarlatti" does not fully supply. These are not really arrangements or orchestrations of keyboard sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti, even though they are sometimes described that way. Instead, as the booklet notes by Kai-Hinrich Müller put it here, this "is music by Avison and Scarlatti simultaneously" (or at least, one might say, sequentially). The basic source material is the set of Essercizii (Exercises) published by Scarlatti ...
Read More
The music on this album takes a little bit of explanation that the words "Concerti Grossi After Scarlatti" does not fully supply. These are not really arrangements or orchestrations of keyboard sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti, even though they are sometimes described that way. Instead, as the booklet notes by Kai-Hinrich Müller put it here, this "is music by Avison and Scarlatti simultaneously" (or at least, one might say, sequentially). The basic source material is the set of Essercizii (Exercises) published by Scarlatti in England in 1739. These were among the few sonatas of Scarlatti that were internationally known during the composer's lifetime; Charles Burney remarked that "everyone played, or at least tried to play, Scarlatti's Essercizii." Enter English composer Charles Avison, who attempted to fill an obvious market niche by arranging them for a small orchestra. The keyboard pieces contain basically Italianate material, with loud-soft contrasts and registral blocks; there is no question of...
Read Less
Portions of content provided by Rovi Corporation. © 2024 Rovi Corporation.