Vincent van Amsterdam returns with music by Bach’s contemporaries, François Couperin and Domenico Scarlatti, and by one of his most famous sons, C.P.E. Bach.

In his artist statement, a feature of the album booklet notes, Vincent van Amsterdam explains that his relationship with Scarlatti’s output “is a central part of my musical career”, adding that “his pieces have great energy and spirit, full of bravura, and he doesn’t shy away from raw virtuosity.” Vincent van Amsterdam has chosen some of the most varied and fascinating of Scarlatti’s concise sonatas for this recording, epitomised by the contrast between such works as the sonatas K. 87, of which he suggests that “the warm sound and the harmonies work even better thanks to the air and sustain of the accordion”, and K. 386, which he argues “represents a bridge between Scarlatti and Couperin”, sharing “a spirit that is both light-hearted and folkloric”.

Tracklist
DOMENICO SCARLATTI (1685-1757)
1. Sonata in B-flat major, K. 202

CARL PHILIPP EMANUEL BACH (1714-1788)
2. 12 Variations in D minor on ‘Die Folie d’Espagne’, Wq.118/9, H. 263

DOMENICO SCARLATTI
3. Sonata in G major, K. 455
4. Sonata in F minor, K. 481
5. Sonata in F minor K. 386
6. Sonata in G major, K. 146

CARL PHILIPP EMANUEL BACH
7. Fantasia in F-sharp minor, Wq. 67, H. 300