MusiLLection

A richly decorated harpsichord, reflecting the instrument’s historical role as both a musical and visual centerpiece of early European music. The harpsichord has been heard for more than six centuries and stands as one of the most characteristic keyboard instruments in the history of Western music. Although it belongs to the keyboard family, its sound is produced not by hammers—as in the piano—but by plucking the strings. This mechanism gives the harpsichord its bright, distinctive tone, which is immediately recognizable. From the moment of its appearance, the harpsichord was warmly received, and its use spread rapidly throughout Europe. By the beginning of the 16th century , it had become immensely popular, and composers employed it in almost every instrumental combination. Its primary role was that of accompaniment , providing harmonic support—particularly in continuo playing—rather than functioning as a solo instrument. The body of the harpsichord typically resembles the shape o...

Portrait of Domenico Scarlatti, whose groundbreaking keyboard sonatas transformed the expressive possibilities of the harpsichord. To fully realize his extraordinary gifts, Domenico Scarlatti had to free himself from paternal authority and emigrate. Only through distance and independence was his creative imagination able to unfold—ultimately to the great benefit of music itself. In his search for the new, Scarlatti focused almost exclusively on keyboard composition, particularly for the harpsichord, an instrument that was rapidly evolving and gaining an increasingly central place in the musical life of his time. The 555 keyboard sonatas that emerged from his creative mind are far more than technical studies or mere esercizi , as he modestly called them. Rather, they form an imaginative and remarkably varied collection of short works that introduce bold new playing techniques and anticipate the mature tripartite sonata form. These compositions reveal an exceptional reservoir of harm...