This is one of the first 30 keyboard sonatas written by Domenico Scarlatti, who would eventually produce 555! It first appeared in a 1738 publication entitled Essercizi (30) per gravicembalo and thus must predate that year. Some of the works in that volume, in fact, may have been written before 1729, the year Scarlatti departed Lisbon for Spain. This F major effort exhibits Spanish characteristics—as so many of the composer's sonatas do—and was probably written in the early or mid-1730s, though it may been composed in the 1720s. Marked Allegro, the work opens with a vigorous theme whose rising chords at the outset form the first part of a large, arch-like pattern to the thematic material, which thereafter busily progresses. Typically, much of the writing here focuses on rhythmic aspects of the music. In the latter half of the sonata, Scarlatti develops the material, giving it a slightly more serious character. This work typically has a duration of two-and-a-half minutes.

© Robert Cummings, All Music Guide