This is an early Scarlatti Sonata, first appearing in the 1738 publication Essercizi per gravicembalo. Like other works in that volume, it may predate 1729, the year of the composer's departure from Lisbon for Spain. While the early sonatas divulge a narrower stylistic range and less sense of contrast from work to work, they are nevertheless quite worthwhile compositions, as this rarely encountered G minor effort demonstrates.

The Sonata is marked Allegro, and while lively throughout, it divulges an unhurried manner in the constant running flow of its accompaniment and in its often wooden contrapuntal features. The main theme is dark and somber in its stately character, and dominates the four sections here, the last three of which proceed after a brief pause. In the third and fourth of these, the melodic material divulges greater transformation and development, as well as a more animated, if not agitated sense. In the end, the music here may strike some listeners as a bit repetitive and the contrapuntal writing as somewhat simple, but the composer demonstrates a subtle grasp of keyboard color and deft sense of both conflict and development. This Sonata typically lasts about five minutes.

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