On the occasion of the 350th anniversary of Alessandro Scarlatti’s birth (Palermo, 2 May 1660), Arcana re-release this anthology of toccatas and fugues by the elder Scarlatti.

Alessandro Scarlatti is better known for his important contribution to the field of opera, oratorio and cantata, but his harpsichord pieces are in no way inferior to the compositions of his son, as attests the fantastic Follia concluding the first Toccata – a nod and a wink to his colleague and friend Arcangelo Corelli.

Alessandro’s cultural background was quite different and very precise in the way it affected keyboard music: Frescobaldi was the first in a series of figures who are known to a greater or lesser extent today and whose teaching came down to Scarlatti in a solid stylistic tradition. Pasquini, his extremely diligent and prolific contemporary, the last of the line, was strongly motivated by his patron, the Prince Borghese in writing harpsichord music. Alessandro also wished to try his hand in this area.

Rinaldo Alessandrini one of the most highly respected artists on the Baroque music scene, plays a rare instrument by Franciscus Debbonis, dated Rome 1678.