Cheap Soler: Sonatas for Harpsichord (Complete), Vol. 3 (Music) (Antonio Soler, Gilbert Rowland) Price

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Customer Reviews of Soler: Sonatas for Harpsichord (Complete), Vol. 3

Antonio Soler on Naxos
I have been listening to the wonderful new release by pianist Soyeon Lee of Scarlatti sonatas on Naxos. Much as I enjoy Scarlatti on the piano, I wanted to hear this type of music on the harpsichord, and I turned to this early volume in the Naxos series of the harpsichord music of Scarlatti's probable student, the Spanish monk, priest, and composer Antonio Soler (1729 -- 1783) This CD, released in 1997, is the third in a projected 15 -- 16 volume set of Soler's approximately 150 harpsichord sonatas beautifully performed by Gilbert Rowland. As of this writing, 12 CDs in the series are available. <
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>The more I hear Scarlatti and Soler, the easier it becomes to differentiate them. Soler's music is distinctly rougher around the edges without the quirkiness or subtelty of Scarlatti's. But Soler's works move much more in the direction of early classical style, with their galant themes, use of the Alberti bass figure, and frequent multi-movement format. There is much to love in both composers. The famous Scarlatti scholar, Ralph Kirkpatrik, wrote insighfully of Soler's music: <
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>"anything gayer or more frivolous could hardly be imagined. One is accustomed to finding frolicking roseate cherubs, not to mention languorous saints, in eighteenth-century churches, but this for the Escorial is almost as if the College of Cardinals were to break into a jig!" (Kirkpatrick, "Domenico Scarlatti" (1968) at 123). <
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>This volume consists of 11 Soler sonatas with Gilbert Rowland providing informative notes on each in addition to his excellent performances. The tone of the collection is upbeat,joyful, and rambunctious, with only two works in the minor key. But the minor key works include the lovely and melancholy Sonata 117 in D minor, one of Soler's finest efforts in the form. <
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>Many of the sonatas are grouped by key pattern to form a unit. Thus the Sonatas nos. 32 and 57 in G minor are followed in this compilation by the sonata no. 33 in G major. Each of these works is in a different character, with the first being rather introspective, the second fiery and dancelike, and the third leaning towards the classical period. Similarly, the sonata no. 28 in C major is paired with sonata no. 29 in the same key. The former sonata is lengthy, with a lyrical swaying classical theme while its successor is a shorter, more baroque Scarlatti-like piece. <
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>The CD concludes with a four-movement work, the sonata no. 93 in F major, opus 4 no. 3 (1779) which belongs in the early classical world of Haydn. The sonata opens with a lengthy and operatic andante which is followed by a short and virtuosic presto and by two contrasting minuets. The highlight of the sonata is its conclusion, a short, rapid, and flamboyant movement in the style of a Spanish dance. <
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>Soler's highly Spanish-flavored harpsichord music, as is that of his great predecessor, is a source of never-ending delight. Those who love Scarlatti and harpsichord music will enjoy getting to know the music of Antonio Soler in this volume and in other volumes of Rowland's performances on Naxos. <
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>Robin Friedman