About the Work

This is a dark, heavy, and dramatic piece in F minor.

Baroque music often contains many improvisational elements, with small melodic figures repeating and variations appearing skillfully and naturally. I believe that through ingenious use of intervals and rhythms, the music was crafted to convey drama even on instruments that could not express dynamics very well at the time. One should imagine the mood of that era, some 300 years ago, interpret its dramatic qualities, and express them tastefully on the modern piano.

About the Composer

Bach, Handel, and Scarlatti, all born in the same year (1685), are representative composers of Baroque music. Naturally, each of the three had a completely different compositional style.

Scarlatti, born in Naples, Italy, is famous as a composer for keyboard instruments, and it is believed that many of his works were intended for the harpsichord.

In 1701, he became a composer and organist attached to a church in Naples, and there is an anecdote that he competed with Handel in harpsichord and organ playing.

Around 1720, he went to Lisbon to teach music to Princess Maria Magdalena Barbara. In 1729, when Barbara married into the Spanish royal family, he moved to Madrid, where he died in 1757. The 555 exercises he wrote for the princess were later called sonatas and became widely known.

About the Structure of the Piece

• A (mm. 1-8): F minor
• B (mm. 9-20): A-flat major → C minor
• C (mm. 21-35): C minor
• D (mm. 36-44): F minor → G minor
• A' (mm. 45-51): G minor
• A (mm. 52-54): F minor
• C (mm. 55-66): F minor

First, a sorrowful two-measure theme centered around an eerie diminished triad, formed by omitting the root of the dominant chord at the beginning of measure 2, after ascending a fourth and then descending stepwise. The left hand also has a counter-melodic line, which beautifully accompanies the right hand a sixth below in the latter half. This theme is repeated twice, seemingly expressing profound sorrow. It would also be beautiful as an echo. At the end of the repetition, the fourth beat, where the next strong beat with an ornamental note (indicating a change to the next section) shifts, should be treated with a touch of surprise and care. This melody, accompanied by repeated notes, descends with a sense of sadness. The repeated notes should never sound bouncy.

Next, syncopation adds more expression, and in the following measure, while expanding with fourths and fifths, the overall line gradually descends over four measures. The left hand also repeats the counter-melody an octave lower in measures 6 and 7. Measure 8 concludes with a half cadence on the dominant chord, and a fermata foreshadows what is to come next. The first beat is an appoggiatura; it should be felt expressively.

B Section The music then suddenly modulates to the fresh and bright relative major, A-flat major. The absence of the bass note makes the triplets feel lighter, and the subsequent ascent of a sixth with the syncopated half note emphasizes the bright sound. It should be played expansively. Next, a chromatic passing tone is used, adding a touch of elegance. These two measures are sequenced up a second. Measures 13-14 and 15-16 are also largely sequenced down a third, descending and ascending with syncopation. One should play lightly, making the most of the rhythm and ornamentation. However, from the repeated measure 15, the key is C minor, so the tone changes. From measure 17, the bass on the first beat is present, sounding firmly and assertively. The melody descends using the repeated-note motif from measure 5. In measure 17, the syncopation is prolonged, with notes alternating between the left and right hands, progressing chromatically. In measure 19, the melody descends a diminished seventh, increasing tension, leading into the C section, which is the climax of the first half. In measure 20, the chord on beats 3 and 4 in the right hand is a diminished seventh chord, expressing eeriness, and is used in inversion in the left hand in measure 21.

C Section This three-octave descending diminished seventh chord in the left hand creates a powerful impression. The right hand uses notes from the diminished seventh chord with bold syncopation, resolving as if drawn in on the last beat of measure 22. A calm triplet scale then soothes the mind, but measure 24 brings a return of terror. In measure 26, the right hand on the second beat differs from measure 23, and one should aim to expand the expression here. This is a three-measure phrase. This impactful melody is layered twice, conveying a strong message. However, the subsequent three-measure phrase seems to try to calm it down, with striking repeated notes that appear to express tears. The two repetitions of this three-measure melody are varied charmingly in various ways, which should be a highlight for the listener. The conclusion of the first half repeats the varied melody from measure 29 twice, incorporating appoggiaturas attractively, and ends with a perfect cadence in C minor.

D Section Using the opening melody of section B, two voices sing in dialogue for two measures. Initially, as the upper voice sings brightly, the lower voice ominously pulls it back. The left hand features an augmented fourth, or tritone, known as the 'devil's interval'. When repeated twice, the sound of a screaming minor seventh appears intensely, accompanied by a diminished fifth (tritone, 'devil's interval') in the bass. From measure 41, for two measures, while holding the dominant D of G minor in the bass, the right and left hands alternately descend in scales. In measure 43, there is another cry of a diminished seventh, leading to a half cadence on the dominant chord.

A' Section The initial sorrowful theme reappears in G minor. From the latter half of the second theme (measure 48), it returns to F minor, varying the descending figure similar to measure 41, and ending with the same half cadence as measure 8 in measure 51. However, there is no fermata. The theme then immediately reappears in the tonic key. After three measures, the concluding C section of the first half suddenly appears with octave half notes. In measure 58, the highest note, D-flat, appears, surprisingly ascending and descending with a diminished seventh syncopation, reaching a climax. These three measures consist of an emotional two measures featuring octaves, syncopation, and repeated notes, plus a soothing triplet scale. It is repeated twice with variations, and the highest note from measure 29, D-flat, reappears. In the following measure 61, the motion shifts to the inner voices, and the varying heights, such as returning to the soprano line midway, are interesting. The repeated notes in the left hand resonate with or support the repeated notes in the right hand, expressing deep sorrow. The final three measures are more intense than the first half, with wider intervals, descending to the lowest note in the right hand, bringing the magnificent drama to a close.