# Scarlatti and the guitar



## pianolearnerstride (Dec 17, 2014)

Why are Scarlatti keyboard sonatas so often played on the guitar? Is there something about the music that makes it a good fit for the guitar?


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

pianolearnerstride said:


> Why are Scarlatti keyboard sonatas so often played on the guitar? Is there something about the music that makes it a good fit for the guitar?


Many of the sonatas are Spanish 'guitaresqe'. Makes guitar versions sound good.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Yes. Though born in Naples, Scarlatti followed his pupil the Princess María Bárbára to Madrid where he lived for the final 28 years of his life. The Spanish influence pervades many of the sonatas.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Are there any particularly well-known recordings of Scarlatti on guitar?


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

I'm interested now because I usually listen to the sonatas on harpsichord.


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## pianolearnerstride (Dec 17, 2014)

I'm not sure what the best recordings are. I've watched a lot on youtube. Searching 'John Williams Scarlatti' on youtube brings up a bunch:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=scarlatti+john+williams


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## pianolearnerstride (Dec 17, 2014)

I particularly like this one:


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## GioCar (Oct 30, 2013)

science said:


> Are there any particularly well-known recordings of Scarlatti on guitar?


I am aware of this recording only










with Narciso Yepes and his ten-string guitar, but I haven't heard it


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

GioCar said:


> I am aware of this recording only
> 
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> 
> ...


Yepes playing Scarlatti? On a 10-string yet? By damn, I need to hear that.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

A lot of good guitarists have recorded a handful of the Sonatas, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of full-length recordings available - no one has tackled all 555 yet on guitar (to my knowledge).


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

GioCar said:


> I am aware of this recording only
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That does look interesting!


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Narciso Yepes had an idiomatic sound. It is not as "polished" as most of the newer guitarists, but I generally really enjoy his playing - particularly in Spanish music. I've heard some of the Scarlatti pieces he has transcribed and recorded and they sound great. The Scarlatti I've heard by John Williams is also very good. Another guitarist who has made some nice Scarlatti transcriptions and recordings is Manuel Barrueco who does a fantastic job on the k380 which I think is one of Scarlatti's finest Sonatas.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

Ukko said:


> Yepes playing Scarlatti? On a 10-string yet? By damn, I need to hear that.


I've enjoyed that disc for many years (starting with a cassette). I also several discs of guitar duets that include Scarlatti transcriptions. And a search on Tidal identified several more obscure recordings that I am checking out.

There are few composers that provide me with more pleasure than Scarlatti. I have recordings on harpsichord, piano, guitar and harp(!). I even have sheet music transcription for my clarinet (although reducing the sonatas to a single melody line turns them into mere etudes).

Edit - just realized I have one for banjo - Bela Fleck.


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

It can sound quite nice on the guitar and the Baroque lute for example, a different aural texture of the notes compared with the more formal sounding harpsichord.


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## RandallPeterListens (Feb 9, 2012)

Seems that, IMO, the best Scarlatti sonatas for guitar recording got left out here: Please try the performances by Sergio and Odair Assad, the Brazilian guitar duo, from their Bach, Scarlatti and Couperin album. Makes the debate on which instrument Scarlatti should be played on irrelevant - the answer is whichever one and whichever performer best makes the music itself "speak". They do a mighty good job. That said, the recordings of Scarlatti by Pogorelich, Horowitz and Pletnev for piano are still tops.


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## Wigmar (7 mo ago)

RandallPeterListens said:


> Seems that, IMO, the best Scarlatti sonatas for guitar recording got left out here: Please try the performances by Sergio and Odair Assad, the Brazilian guitar duo, from their Bach, Scarlatti and Couperin album. Makes the debate on which instrument Scarlatti should be played on irrelevant - the answer is whichever one and whichever performer best makes the music itself "speak". They do a mighty good job. That said, the recordings of Scarlatti by Pogorelich, Horowitz and Pletnev for piano are still tops.


Andres Segovia recorded a couple of the sonatas, among them as follows:
L 79, Decca DL 710039, rec. 4/1960
L 352, recorded 1/1944
L 483, Decca DL 710140, rec. 3/1967


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

^^^^^^^^^

So did Leo Brouwer , fantastic playing. 
Label: MusicMasters


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## bagpipers (Jun 29, 2013)

You must remember guitarists will arrange anything they can arrange and Scarlatti works and also sounds well.Bach keyboard works sound good but are technically very hard so in most cases you would need two guitars.

A lot of keyboard works just have 1.to many notes for one guitarist to play or 2.even with two guitars the keyboard uses to many notes to low or high for the guitars register.And the third factor is piano music of the late 18th to early 19th forward modulates a lot,like Beethoven goes to V and then V of V and so on....... and the guitar is very fickle with keys similar to woodwinds but favoring sharps not flats.A lot of modulation would complicate this also.

This is why even in 2022 keyboard and piano arrangements for guitar are not common.
This why aside from obvious suspects like Lute or Baroque guitar and Vihuela the "Cello" is a good instrument for guitar because of similar technical range and similar keys and chords that sound good.


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## Wigmar (7 mo ago)

bagpipers said:


> You must remember guitarists will arrange anything they can arrange and Scarlatti works and also sounds well.Bach keyboard works sound good but are technically very hard so in most cases you would need two guitars.
> 
> A lot of keyboard works just have 1.to many notes for one guitarist to play or 2.even with two guitars the keyboard uses to many notes to low or high for the guitars register.And the third factor is piano music of the late 18th to early 19th forward modulates a lot,like Beethoven goes to V and then V of V and so on....... and the guitar is very fickle with keys similar to woodwinds but favoring sharps not flats.A lot of modulation would complicate this also.
> 
> ...


And in his eager to broaden the classical guitar repertoire, Andres Segovia arranged and transcribed some movements from 'cello' suites by Bach, as the prelude BVW 1007 & gavotte BWV 1012. Segovia has also recorded a 'cello' concerto by Boccherini, arranged by the eminent cellist Gaspar Cassado (1961) and the complete cello suite no 3 BWV 1009 (1961)


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## bagpipers (Jun 29, 2013)

Wigmar said:


> And in his eager to broaden the classical guitar repertoire, Andres Segovia arranged and transcribed some movements from 'cello' suites by Bach, as the prelude BVW 1007 & gavotte BWV 1012. Segovia has also recorded a 'cello' concerto by Boccherini, arranged by the eminent cellist Gaspar Cassado (1961) and the complete cello suite no 3 BWV 1009 (1961)


Yes Segovia did well with the cello and I'm not sure who did the transcriptions I think all of Bach's cello catalogue is available for guitar.I know Goran Sollscher does all the Bach cello works.
Also if some don't know but the 6th and last cello suite was for the piccolo cello ,that is pretty good too.


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