Domenico Scarlatti Viola d’Amore Sonatas, a New Musicological Discovery – Recording of a CD

Project location: ITALY
Project start date: January 2011 - Project end date: September 2011
Project number: 2010-84
Beneficiary: Associazione Culturale Musicale Musicangelica

A deep musicological research concerning Domenico Scarlatti solo sonatas was done in 2008 by Valerio Losito and Andrea Coen: this work has determined that at least four sonatas for solo instrument and basso continuo are actually written for Viola d'amore. This discovery makes possible to relocate in a unified view the apparent incongruities of these sonatas, attributed over the years to many different instruments, like violin, mandolin, flute, oboe, etc.
This discovery has already been acquired by the musicological literature in an essay by Coen and Losito (COEN, Andrea LOSITO, Valerio Ipotesi sulla destinazione strumentale di cinque sonate per strumento melodico e basso continuo di Domenico Scarlatti, in Domenico Scarlatti Adventures, Essays to commemorate the 250th Anniversary of His Death, a cura di Massimiliano Sala e W. Dean Sutcliffe, Ad Parnassum Studies vol. 3, Bologna, Ut Orpheus, 2008, pp. 225 - 240).

The musical program (Viola d'amore and Harpsichord) was proposed in several music festival in Italy.
However a Cd recording is missing.

The project which received a grant from the Nando Peretti Foundation consists in the Cd recording of these sonatas for Viola d'amore and Harpsichord. A live concert at the end of the recording will be organized.

The recording label Brilliant Classics (www.brilliantclassics.com), world leader in classical music has already expressed a concrete interest, and agreed to publish the Cd.

The widespread distribution throughout the world of the Brilliant Classics recording label will give great visibility to the Elsa Peretti Viola d'amore Gagliano.
The publication of this Cd allows, also, to purpose the live performance of the Scarlatti sonatas in national and international concert venues and festivals.