About Sonatas K. 1 - K. 30

Among Scarlatti's sonatas for keyboard, K. 1 to 30, numbered according to the generally estimated composition dates (Kirkpatrick numbers), were published as Essercizi per Gravicembalo and dedicated to King João V of Portugal in return for being granted a knighthood. (This collection is generally translated as "Exercises for Harpsichord," and Scarlatti's works for keyboard instruments are primarily presumed to be for harpsichord; however, the current state of research indicates that it is not entirely clear whether other keyboard instruments were completely out of consideration.) This was the only collection published by the composer himself during his lifetime, and its preface holds value as an authentic documentary source by the composer himself.

The preface suggests that the collection aims at the cultivation of performance technique, leading to the inference that it was written for the practical purpose of daily practice for Maria Barbara, whom he served as a music teacher. Regarding the composition date, many researchers argue for an early composition date, viewing the Essercizi as revisions of sonatas written considerably earlier, but no definitive conclusion has yet been reached.

The arrangement of all 30 pieces allows for progressive learning, with later works generally becoming longer and more difficult. The form is fundamentally binary. Furthermore, it is typical of Scarlatti's sonatas for the opening of a piece to feature brief imitation between both hands; in many cases, the imitative figure appears to have little apparent relation to the main material of the rest of the piece.

The preface also contains remarks touching upon the overall musical content of the collection, but the interpretation of these remarks has been repeatedly debated, partly due to the preface being a text prone to expressions of humility or conventional formality.

K. 18 Presto

The overall texture can be broadly categorized as follows:

• one where the upper and inner voices engage in motivic interplay while the bass repeats an eighth-note figure;
• one where the bass supports the upper voice's decorative sixteenth-note figures with a single melody or chords;
• and one where the bass repeats leaps and trills beneath the upper voice's parallel third scales.

In the latter half, during the interplay between the upper and inner voices, the proportion of the bass playing chords increases, leading to a richer sound.