Sonata VII in B-flat major: Allegro, Presto
Sonata VIII in E minor: Allegro, Presto
Sonata IX in A minor: Allegro, Andante
Sonata X in D major: Vivace, Presto
Sonata XI in F major: Moderato, Andante
Sonata XII in C major: Allegro, Giga: Presto
Concerto in B-flat for Harpsichord: Vivace and Staccato
Allegro, Adagio, Allegretto
“Regarding the biography of Pietro Domenico Paradies (Paradisi) (1707-1791) already mentioned in the preface of the CD dedicated to his first six Gravicembalo Sonatas, published in 1754 by the London publisher John Johnson together with the later ones recorded here.
It is worth mentioning, to underscore the importance of the harpsichord production of this Neapolitan composer, in addition to the existence of copious manuscript material, the succession of numerous editions subsequent to the first, notably the Paris edition by Le Clerc (1765) and the London editions by Welcker (1770), Blundell (1781), Preston (1790), and Longman & Broderip (1790). This is a publishing tradition that lasted about three lustra, very indicative of the fame that Paradies achieved both as a composer and as a teacher and concert pianist. It is not easy to realize whether the twelve sonatas in question were conceived at the same time or in different periods. The variety of stylistic references, the references to typically Neapolitan as well as French taste, the use of Domenico Scarlatti’s technique as well as that of Johann Christian Bach, would suggest different chronological collocations; however, it could also be a matter of skillfully managed eclecticism.
Another thought-provoking element in the analysis of these monuments glorifying the triumph of the galant style might be the typically ‘harpsichordistic’ character of some compositions contrasting with the more properly ‘fortepianistic’ movements of others.”
(from notes by Filippo E. Ravizza)
