Listening exercise

Domenico Scarlatti composed several hundred keyboard sonatas, most of it in Spain while he was working at the Spanish court. Some of his sonatas were meant to be played in pairs such as Sonata K208 and K209. Each piece is in the key of A major with a well-defined two-part structure.

Sonata K 208

Sonata K209

Sonata K209 is inspired by a Spanish dance (jota aragonesa), characterized by the triple meter in a fast pace and rapid alternation between chords. Scarlatti uses different devices in this piece such as syncopation which imposes a ¾ pattern over two measures of 3/8 time and persistent repetitions.

While I was listening both pieces, I felt that I am in Spain. I can imagine the sunlight, warmth, happiness and of course the lifestyle such as Spanish dance.

References

Classical Net. 1995. Classical Net – Basic Repertoire List – D. Scarlatti. [online] Available at: <http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/scarlattid.php&gt; [Accessed 15 May 2020]

Kirkpatrick, R., 2020. Domenico Scarlatti | Italian Composer. [online] Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at: <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Domenico-Scarlatti&gt; [Accessed 15 May 2020]

Scarlatti, D., 2014. Scarlatti: 14 Piano Sonatas. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxAP9o5Eocw&gt; [Accessed 15 May 2020]

Scarlatti, D., 2013. Scarlatti: Complete Sonatas, Vol. 1 — The Spanish Influence. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncBwV0IKSk8&gt; [Accessed 15 May 2020]