LUIGI ATTADEMO : D.Scarlatti 12 Sonatas for Guitar : CD
D.Scarlatti : Sonata K377 Allegrissimo; Sonata K208 Adagio e Cantabile; Sonata K209 Allegro; Sonata K32 Aria; Sonata K77 Moderato e Cantabile; Minuet; Sonata K34 Larghetto; Sonata K291 Andante ; Sonata K292 Allegro; Sonata K87; Sonata K481 Andante e Cantabile; Sonata K476 Allegro; Sonata K213 Andante.
Luigi Attademo
Brilliant Classics : 9125
Domenico Scarlatti never wrote anything for the guitar but his 600 or so keyboard works often work so well when played on our guitar that you would really never realise it unless you knew all about the man and his music. Being in the Baroque style with all the voice separations and the part writing it frequently sounds absolutely natural on the guitar, and here Luigi Attademo has brought us 13 of these sonatas. After the extremely fast paced opening K377, we then are treated to a slow emotive work K208, which again is very natural sounding on the guitar.
K209 is an Allegro with much movement and lots of part – writing that really keeps the interest flowing, whilst the following Aria of K32 is another emotional piece of slow melodic writing full of nice touches, as is the next track K77, the Moderato e Cantabile. The 6th track doesn’t have a catalogue number, just that it’s a Minuet. It has a number of quite modern sounding harmonies that attract your attention as they progress. Then we get another slow work, the Larghetto of K34 which sounds very Bach – like at times, and again is very natural sounding on the guitar as indeed are all these pieces. Then K291 , an Andante that does actually have some inherent movement in it that makes it faster than the previous .K292 is a fast paced Allegro which sounds very tricky, but which Luigi has absolutely no difficulty getting under his fingers.K87 which doesn’t have a speed marking is an Andante sort of feel, with a lot of emotional music in its music, whilst K481 is similar in feel and speed, and is another standout track here. The penultimate track is another Allegro K476 that really does have some very pacey moments that are excitingly done. The final track is K213, an Andante that takes us into some harmonies that are soft, emotive and beautifully done.
So all in all, this excellent CD is a must for anyone that likes his Scarlatti, because I doubt you would find any other album full of this music that sounds better. This is a lovely album all through.
Chris Dumigan
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