Description

There are some marvelous gems here, by Joao de Sousa Carvalho, Joao Cordeiro da Silva, and Padre Jose Larrañaga. They are rendered with absolute brilliance by Ms. Skyrm.”

–Randolf Schein, Continuo

Eighteenth-century Iberian keyboard music is dominated by the Italian composer Domenico Scarlatti, who went to Portugal in 1719 to take a position at the royal court. A decade later, he moved to Seville and later to Madrid where he died in 1757. Scarlatti wrote more than 500 keyboard sonatas which are distinctive in their use of Spanish folk elements, dance rhythms, and imitations of the guitar. Lesser known are the many native Iberian composers active during this time. Most of them were influenced by Scarlatti, but they also developed uniquely personal styles, incorporating into their sonatas the harmonies and rhythms of Spanish and Portuguese folk music as well as the international compositional trends of the day. The music of some of these composers has only recently been published in modern editions but the composers represented on this disc are still relatively unknown. Susanne Skyrm, who studied fortepiano with Malcolm Bilson, has specialized in music of eighteenth-century Spain and Portugal. She plays on this CD an early piano built in 1767 by the Lisbon master Manuel Antunes, preserved in splendid condition in The Shrine to Music Museum, Vermillion, South Dakota.

TREASURES OF IBERIAN KEYBOARD MUSIC PERFORMED ON THE ANTUNES FORTEPIANO (1767). JOÃO DE SOUSA CARVALHO (1745-1798): Allegro in D and Toccata in g; SEBASTIAN DE ALBERO (1722-1756): Sonata in G and Sonata in g; JOÃO CORDEIRO DA SILVA (18th CENTURY): Allegro in C; CARLOS SEIXAS (1704-1742): Sonata in a, Sonata in D, & Sonata in c; PADRE JOSÉ LARRA„GA (ca. 1730-1806): Sonata de quinto tono; ALBERTO JOSÉ GOMES DA SILVA (?-1795): Sonata in e; FRANCISCO XAVIER BAPTISTA (?-1797): Sonata in g; PADRE ANTONIO SOLER (1729-1784): Sonata in G, R. 45, Sonata in c, R. 100, & Sonata in C, R. 51. . (DDD). UPC # 0-17685-49852-7

Sound Clips (MP3):

1. Carvalho- Allegro in D major – Susanne Skyrm

2. Carvalho- Toccata in G minor I- Allegro – Susanne Skyrm

3. Carvalho- Toccata in G minor II- Andante – Susanne Skyrm

4. Alberto- Obras para clavicordio o piano forte Sonata in G major – Susanne Skyrm

5. Alberto- Keyboard Sonata No- 17 in G minor – Susanne Skyrm

6. Silva- Allegro in C major – Susanne Skyrm

7. Seixas- Keyboard Sonata No- 71 in A minor – Susanne Skyrm

8. Seixas- Keyboard Sonata No- 19 in D major – Susanne Skyrm

9. Seixas- Keyboard Sonata No- 15 in C minor – Susanne Skyrm

10. Larranaga- Sonata de quinto tono – Susanne Skyrm

11. Silva- Keyboard Sonata in E minor I- Allegro – Susanne Skyrm

12. Silva- Keyboard Sonata in E minor II- Minuete – Susanne Skyrm

13. Baptista- Keyboard Sonata in G minor – Susanne Skyrm

14. Soler- Keyboard Sonata in G major, Rubio 45 – Susanne Skyrm

15. Soler- Keyboard Sonata in C minor, Rubio 100 – Susanne Skyrm

16. Soler- Keyboard Sonata in C major, Rubio 51 – Susanne Skyrm