Soler, A: Keyboard Sonata No. 4 in G major

Soler was music master to the princes of Bourbon in El Escorial, the palace of the King of Spain. It’s probable that most of his keyboard sonatas were written for Prince Gabriel and these essentially private works – around 150 have survived – bear comparison with the works of Domenico Scarlatti and C.P. E. Bach. Soler was fond of dance rhythms and guitar imitations, as well as infectious and delightful modulations. These fifteen sonatas are heard here in the order proposed by Rubio’s catalogue. Pianist Martina Filjak – “brilliance, sensitivity and imagination” (The New York Times) – is a much admired international artist.

Having scaled (for Brilliant Classics) the musical Everest that is Domenico Scarlatti's 555 keyboard sonatas, Pieter-Jan Belder now turns his attention to his Spanish contemporary, Antonio Soler. Solers productivity was hardly less astonishing, especially as a monk at the abbey of El Escorial required to spend much of his time either in contemplation or directing the abbeyÂ’s music. In this capacity he would most likely have met Scarlatti, as the latter accompanied his royal patrons to their summer retreat at El Escorial. SolerÂ’s keyboard sonatas are also bipartite constructions, with new twists of harmony and invention around each unexpected corner. This first volume is completed by one of the most curious of all harpsichord works, a Fandango with a slowly evolving, hypnotic effect that has more than once been compared to Ravel's Boléro.