Scarlatti often wrote his sonatas in pairs, intending them to be performed back-to-back in concert. Today pianists and harpsichordists rarely follow his wishes, even in recordings where they usually select a varied group of his sonatas from among the 555 in the composer's oeuvre. While these two sonatas are both in the key of A major, they are otherwise quite dissimilar. K. 208 is a lyrical Adagio e cantabile, while the K. 209 here is a lively, colorful Allegro, generally thought to express a village celebration, replete with dancing and musical accompaniment by the village band.

The Sonata opens with a bouncy rhythm over which the festive main theme is played, a long-breathed creation spawning several offshoots. The strains of Spanish folk music are clearly evident in the guitar-like and percussive effects in Scarlatti's writing. Some listeners even claim to hear imitations of castanets coming from the sometimes manic activity in the upper register. In the second half of the work Scarlatti develops his material, first tempering the merriment with a note of sobriety before launching back into the festive kind of mood predominant during the two expository sections. This four-minute masterwork was preserved in the third Venice volume of the composer's sonatas, dated 1753.

© All Music Guide