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Musicology:
This Sonata was preserved in the 11th so-called Venice volume, from 1755. There are 15 such manuscripts that contain copies of Scarlatti's keyboard sonatas—no originals survive. While this C major work is housed in this volume, it may actually have been written a year or so earlier than 1755, but it is still most certainly a late composition. That said, its energy and vivacious spirit convey the kind of youthful character one associates with the composer's early keyboard sonatas.
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Sonata in C, K.461, L.8Key: C
Genre: Sonata
Pr. Instrument: Harpsichord
Marked Allegro, this three-and-a-half minute gem opens with a playful but elegant theme, largely built on a recurrent rhythmic figure whose various incarnations always sparkle with vigor and joy. The second subject begins with a descending scale, after which the music builds in upward swirls with energy it seems unable to contain. The expository material is presented a second time, after which Scarlatti begins his development section. He typically reserved the second half of the work for thematic development, and in the C major here the music is transformed dramatically, taking on a mysterious, almost serious sense, with much of the main source material becoming barely recognizable. Still, the mood of the Sonata returns to its playful busyness, and then the development section is given a second time.
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