The Life and Legacy of Domenico Scarlatti

Introduction

Domenico Scarlatti (1685–1757) was an Italian composer whose prolific output, particularly his 555 keyboard sonatas, significantly shaped the landscape of Baroque and early Classical music. Born in the same year as other giants of the era, Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel, Scarlatti carved out a unique niche with his innovative approach to keyboard composition, expanding the technical and expressive possibilities of the harpsichord. His life, marked by extensive travels and service to European royalty, saw him transition from a composer of vocal works in Italy to a master of instrumental music in the Iberian Peninsula. This biography will delve into the various stages of Scarlatti’s life, from his formative years to his mature period, exploring his major compositions and enduring legacy.

Childhood

Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti was born on October 26, 1685, in Naples, then part of the Spanish Empire. He was the sixth of ten children born to the renowned composer and teacher Alessandro Scarlatti and Antonia Anzaloni. His father, a prominent figure in Italian opera, held the esteemed position of maestro di cappella, a testament to the family’s musical standing. Domenico’s older brother, Pietro Filippo, also pursued a career in music, indicating a strong familial influence in the arts.

While specific details about Domenico’s early childhood are scarce, it is widely believed that he received his initial musical training from his father. Given Alessandro Scarlatti’s stature as a composer and pedagogue, it is highly probable that Domenico’s prodigious musical gifts were nurtured from a very young age within the family home. Other potential early teachers include Gaetano Greco, Francesco Gasparini, and Bernardo Pasquini, all influential composers and musicians of the time, who may have further shaped his developing musical style.

By the age of 15, Domenico had already demonstrated remarkable talent, securing an appointment as an organist in Naples in 1701. This early professional engagement, under the guidance of his father who was then the chapel’s maestro di cappella, marked the beginning of his formal career in music. His early works included operas such as L’Ottavia restituita al trono and Il Giustino, produced in Naples in 1703. These early compositions, though not as celebrated as his later keyboard works, showcased his burgeoning talent in vocal music, a genre heavily influenced by his father’s operatic legacy.

Youth

Domenico Scarlatti’s youth was characterized by a period of significant musical development, travel, and influential encounters that would shape his artistic trajectory. In 1705, his father, Alessandro, sent him to Venice, reportedly to study with the esteemed composer Francesco Gasparini. This move marked a crucial step in Domenico’s education, exposing him to new musical currents and expanding his artistic horizons beyond Naples.

During his time in Venice, Scarlatti is believed to have met the young Irish musician Thomas Roseingrave. Roseingrave, deeply impressed by Scarlatti’s harpsichord playing, later recounted to the English musicologist Charles Burney that Scarlatti’s performances sounded as if ‘ten hundred d…s had been at the instrument; he had never heard such passages of execution and effect before’. This anecdote highlights Scarlatti’s early virtuosity on the harpsichord, a skill that would later define his most celebrated compositions. It is also suggested that Scarlatti formed a friendship with George Frideric Handel during this period in Venice.

By the spring of 1709, Scarlatti had relocated to Rome, where he assumed his father’s former position as musical director and composer to the exiled Polish queen, Maria Casimira. For the queen’s private theater, he composed a series of operas and occasional pieces, often collaborating with her secretary, Carlo Sigismondo Capeci, who provided the texts. While much of this vocal music has not garnered lasting acclaim, it provided Scarlatti with valuable experience in operatic composition and courtly service.

His association with the Vatican began in 1713, and from 1714 to 1719, he served as musical director of the Julian Chapel at St. Peter’s. During this tenure, he composed church music, including the ten-voice Stabat Mater, which offers a glimpse of the genius that would later fully blossom in his harpsichord sonatas. His operatic career, however, proved less successful, culminating in Ambleto (1715) and Berenice, regina di Egitto (1718), the latter a collaboration with Nicola Porpora.

A pivotal moment in Scarlatti’s youth was the establishment of relations with the Portuguese embassy in Rome. In 1714, he composed a cantata celebrating the birth of a Portuguese crown prince, a connection that would eventually lead him to the Iberian Peninsula. In September 1719, Scarlatti resigned from his Vatican post, and by the end of 1720, he had arrived in Lisbon, where his serenata Contesa delle Stagioni was performed at the royal palace. This move marked a significant turning point, as he became musical director to King John V of Portugal and music master to Princess Maria Bárbara de Bragança, who would become his lifelong patroness and the dedicatee of many of his future keyboard sonatas.

Adulthood

Scarlatti’s adulthood was largely defined by his extended residence and work in the Iberian Peninsula, a period that profoundly influenced his musical output and solidified his reputation as a master of the harpsichord. After arriving in Lisbon in late 1720, he served King John V of Portugal as musical director and dedicated himself to the musical education of the royal family, most notably Princess Maria Bárbara de Bragança. This relationship with the princess proved to be one of the most significant of his career, as she remained his devoted patroness and the primary inspiration for his keyboard sonatas.

During his early years in Lisbon, Scarlatti continued to compose serenades and church music, though these works are generally considered less significant than his later instrumental pieces. A personal turning point occurred in 1725 with the death of his father, Alessandro Scarlatti. In 1728, at the age of 43, Domenico made a final visit to Italy, where he married Maria Caterina Gentili in Rome. Their marriage produced six children before her death in 1739.

The year 1728 also marked another pivotal moment: his pupil, Princess Maria Bárbara, married the Spanish crown prince, the future Ferdinand VI. Scarlatti followed the royal couple to Spain, where he would spend the remaining 25 years of his life. His initial years in Spain were spent in Seville (1729-1733), where he is believed to have immersed himself in Spanish popular music, incorporating its melodies and rhythms into his compositions. Charles Burney, an English musicologist, noted that Scarlatti imitated

“the melody of tunes sung by carriers, muleteers, and common people”.

After 1733, Scarlatti settled in the royal residences of Madrid and at nearby palaces such as La Granja, El Escorial, and Aranjuez. During this period, he largely ceased composing vocal music, focusing almost exclusively on his keyboard sonatas. There is no evidence of his involvement in the extravagant opera productions at court, which were directed by his friend, the renowned castrato singer Farinelli. Farinelli’s correspondence provides much of the direct information known about Scarlatti’s life and character during this time.

In 1738, Scarlatti oversaw the publication of his Esercizi per gravicembalo (Exercises), a collection of 30 sonatas that marked the beginning of his most significant compositional output. These sonatas continued to be produced in brilliant manuscript volumes for Maria Bárbara in 1742 and 1749. When she became Queen of Spain in 1746, the musical activities of the Spanish court became even more lavish, further supporting Scarlatti’s creative endeavors. The final great series of his harpsichord sonatas were copied for the Queen between 1752 and 1757, the year of his death.

After the death of his first wife in 1739, Scarlatti married a Spaniard, Anastasia Maxarti Ximenes, with whom he had four more children. His life in Spain, particularly his immersion in Spanish culture and folk music, profoundly influenced his sonatas, imbuing them with a unique character that captured the essence of the Iberian Peninsula.

Major Compositions

Domenico Scarlatti’s enduring legacy rests overwhelmingly on his monumental collection of 555 keyboard sonatas. While he composed various other works throughout his career, including operas, oratorios, and cantatas, it is these sonatas that showcase his innovative genius and profound impact on keyboard music.

His early career in Italy saw him primarily engaged in vocal compositions, particularly operas. Notable among these are L’Ottavia restituita al trono (1703), Il Giustino (1703), Tolomeo e Alessandro (1711), Amor d’un’ombra e gelosia d’un’aura (1714), Ambleto (1715), and Berenice, regina di Egitto (1718), the last of which was a collaboration with Nicola Porpora. He also composed sacred music, with the 10-voice Stabat Mater being a significant example of his church compositions. However, as he transitioned to his life in the Iberian Peninsula, his focus shifted dramatically towards instrumental music.

The keyboard sonatas, often referred to as Essercizi per gravicembalo (Exercises), began to be published in 1738, with an initial collection of 30 pieces. These single-movement works, predominantly in binary form, were revolutionary for their time. Scarlatti pushed the technical and musical boundaries of the harpsichord, introducing a wealth of virtuosic techniques such as rapid arpeggios, scales spanning the entire keyboard, audacious dissonances, unconventional modulations, and notably, hand-crossing. These innovations not only demanded a high level of skill from the performer but also expanded the expressive capabilities of the instrument.

Many of Scarlatti’s sonatas were composed in pairs, often in the same or related keys, creating a sense of unity and contrast between the two movements. These pairs could feature a slow movement contrasted with a fast one, or two complementary fast movements, effectively forming 194 two-movement sonatas. A smaller number of his sonatas are also arranged in triptychs.

A distinctive characteristic of Scarlatti’s sonatas is the profound influence of Iberian folk music. His compositions often evoke the sounds and rhythms of Spanish popular music, incorporating elements such as the click of castanets, the strumming of guitars, the thud of muffled drums, and the wail of gypsy laments. This assimilation of local musical traditions into his highly structured Baroque framework resulted in a unique and vibrant style that set his works apart from his contemporaries. Ralph Kirkpatrick, a leading authority on Scarlatti, noted that Scarlatti captured the essence of Spanish life in his sonatas more completely than even native Spanish composers.

While the majority of his sonatas were written for a one-manual harpsichord with an extended compass, Scarlatti’s mastery allowed him to create a rich variety of sonorities and textures, elevating his harpsichord writing to a level comparable to that of later piano composers like Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt.

Towards the end of his life, Scarlatti returned briefly to vocal music, composing the Salve Regina for soprano and strings, which is considered one of his most beautiful vocal compositions. However, it is the sheer volume, originality, and technical brilliance of his keyboard sonatas that define his major compositional output and secure his place as one of the most significant composers of the Baroque era.

Death

Domenico Scarlatti spent the final 25 years of his life in Spain, primarily in Madrid, continuing his service to the Spanish royal family and dedicating himself almost exclusively to the composition of his keyboard sonatas. He died in Madrid on July 23, 1757, at the age of 71.

Despite his significant contributions to music and his close ties to the Spanish court, Scarlatti’s grave no longer exists. He was buried at a convent in Madrid, but the exact location of his final resting place has been lost to history. His residence at 35 Calle de Leganitos in Madrid is marked with a historical plaque, a small testament to his time in the city where he produced the majority of his most celebrated works.

Scarlatti’s death marked the end of an era for keyboard music. His prolific output of sonatas in his later years, particularly those composed between 1752 and 1757 for Queen Maria Bárbara, represented the culmination of his unique stylistic development. These final works continued to push the boundaries of harpsichord technique and musical expression, demonstrating his unwavering creative energy until the very end of his life.

His passing, though not widely documented in terms of public mourning or grand ceremonies, left behind a profound musical legacy that would continue to influence composers for centuries to come. The direct information about his final years and character largely comes from the correspondence of his friend, the castrato singer Farinelli, who also resided in Madrid under royal patronage.

Conclusion

Domenico Scarlatti stands as a pivotal figure in the history of Western music, a composer whose innovative spirit and unique musical language bridged the Baroque and Classical eras. Born into a prominent musical family, his early life was steeped in the Italian vocal traditions of his father, Alessandro Scarlatti. However, it was his extensive travels and eventual settlement in the Iberian Peninsula that truly unlocked his distinctive compositional voice.

His nearly three decades in the service of the Portuguese and Spanish royal families, particularly his close relationship with Princess (later Queen) Maria Bárbara, provided the fertile ground for the creation of his 555 keyboard sonatas. These works, characterized by their dazzling virtuosity, harmonic audacity, and profound integration of Iberian folk elements, redefined the capabilities of the harpsichord and left an indelible mark on keyboard literature. Scarlatti’s ability to weave the sounds of Spanish life—from castanets to gypsy laments—into sophisticated musical forms demonstrated a remarkable synthesis of popular and classical traditions.

While his vocal works are less frequently performed today, the keyboard sonatas continue to captivate audiences and challenge performers with their technical demands and expressive depth. Scarlatti’s influence extended to subsequent generations of composers, including Bach, Handel, and Mozart, who recognized the groundbreaking nature of his harmonic and rhythmic innovations. His legacy is not merely in the sheer volume of his output but in the profound originality and forward-thinking nature of his musical ideas.

Domenico Scarlatti’s life was a journey from the operatic stages of Naples to the royal courts of Lisbon and Madrid, a testament to his adaptability and enduring dedication to his art. He remains celebrated as a master of the keyboard, a pioneer of musical form, and a composer whose works continue to resonate with their vibrant energy and timeless appeal.