Synopsis

On today’s date in 1719, the Papal ambassador in Lisbon noted the arrival of a fellow Italian, composer Domenico Scarlatti. Scarlatti was in his early 30s, and the son of Alessandro Scarlatti, a famous and influential composer of Baroque operas in Naples.

At the time, Scarlatti was nowhere near as famous as his father, and had come to Lisbon to serve as the music teacher for eight-year-old Portuguese princess Maria Magdalena Barbara. This teaching gig turned out to be the most important event in his life — and for two reasons.

First, the little princess was mad about music, and became a talented performer on the harpsichord. Second, in 1733, when the princess was 22, she married into the Spanish royal house, becoming the Queen of Spain. Scarlatti remained in her service for the next 25 years, composing for her amusement over 500 harpsichord sonatas, infused with the rhythms and colors of Spanish and Portuguese folk music and with the plucked sound of the harpsichord often mimicking a Spanish guitar.

Only a small number of Scarlatti’s sonatas were published during his lifetime, but long after his death all surviving manuscripts were tracked down and published.

Music Played in Today's Program

Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757): Harpsichord Sonata; Gustav Leonhardt, harpsichord; Sony 61820