Another Look At Scarlatti, Soler, And .. Seixas
In 2006, Naxos and the Brazilian pianist and harpsichordist Debora Halasz released the first of what was promised to be the first of a series of the keyboard sonatas of the relatively little-known Portuguese composer Carlos de Seixas. Carlos de Seixas: Harpsichord Sonatas 1 The album was a rare treat, but it was not until 2011 that this second volume of de Seixas sonatas was released again performed with passion and flair by Halasz. As in the initial recording, Halasz performs on a replica of a 1734 instrument that was built for her. The harpsichord has a deep, full and rich sound.
De Seixas was a younger contemporary of Domenico Scarlatti (1695 -- 1757). While Scarlatti came into his own as a composer of keyboard works late in life, de Seixas was a prodigy who served as organist to the Chapel Royal and the Patriarchal Cathedral in Lisbon from the age of sixteen. He and Scarlatti knew each other and worked together for the Portuguese Royal family from 1723 -- 1729, when Scarlatti moved to Spain. The younger and the older composer influenced each other. They both composed short keyboard sonatas which, in Scarlatti's case especially, consisted of a single movement in two related parts each of which was repeated. Listeners familiar with Scarlatti will immediately hear the resemblance to de Seixas. A third composer, Antonio Soler, (1729 -- 1783) may have studied with Scarlatti, and his keyboard sonatas have much in common with both Scarlatti and de Seixas. Soler and de Seixas tend to use more multiple movement works than did Scarlatti.
Much of de Seixas' music has been lost, but there is a collection of 80 keyboard sonatas compiled by a modern day scholar, Macario Santiago Kastner. (There are over 650 surviving sonatas by Scarlatti). The 80 sonatas are grouped together by key and are the subject of Halasz ongoing recording project, sponsored by Naxos and by Bayerischer Rundfunk.
This CD includes 17 de Seixas sonatas, of which 10 are in the single movement form favored by Scarlatti. There are nine sonatas with two movements and one sonata with three movements. The movements tend to be brief as compared to Soler's multi-movement sonatas. The multi-movement works usually include an allegro and dance movements such as a gigue or minuet. The sonatas are mostly short. They range in time on this CD from 1:15 for the sonata no 45 in G major to 9:37 for the single movement sonata no. 16 in c minor. The works do not follow Kastner's ordering on the CD. The CD opens with five single movement works, and the remainder of the disk includes multi-movement works interspersed with single movement compositions. The initial work in Kastner's ordering, a short, sprightly single movement sonata in C major appears late in the CD. Of the sonatas 12 are in the major key and 5 in the minor.
Many of these sonatas a virtuoso pieces taken at rapid tempo and full of large clangorous chords low in the harpsichord's register. Some are light, flowing and highly ornamented. The works are full of strong rhythms, guitar like sounds, repeated notes, and dances, similar to Scarlatti's sonatas. They do not have the variety of Scarlatti's works in the form in terms of harmonic adventurousness, quirkiness, lightness, or emotional range. The subtlety of Scarlatti does not appear frequently in de Seixas. According to Keith Anderson's liner notes, Kastner attributed the different compositional styles to the different audiences for which the composers worked. Scarlatti wrote exclusively for the court while the younger de Seixas composed for a wider, more varied audience. De Seixas' works seem to emphasize keyboard virtuosity even more than do Scarlatti's. De Seixas will delight listeners who love Scarlatti. Halasz is to be commended for bringing these works to an audience.
The Naxos label is famous for its many ongoing series of complete works from baroque to contemporary. This is particularly the case for the composers discussed in this review. With respect to Scarlatti, Naxos has released 14, at last count, CDs performed by as many different pianists as part of a series of the complete sonatas which will consist of over 30 CDs when concluded. Naxos has concluded a series of the complete keyboard works of Soler all of which were performed on the harpsichord by Gilbert Rowland. For good measure, Naxos has just began another complete Soler cycle, this time to be performed on the piano. Halasz' cycle of the far less familiar set of de Seixas sonatas will require, I assume, five or six CDs to complete.
These sets remind me of the large volume of music available to be enjoyed and appreciated. Lovers of music familiar with the relatively small number of widely recognized composers, including Scarlatti, frequently enjoy going a little off the beaten path. Listeners who love baroque keyboard music, the harpsichord, and the more familiar works of Scarlatti and Soler will enjoy hearing these keyboard sonatas of Carlos de Seixas as performed by Debora Halasz.
Total time: 73:38
Robin Friedman
