A few words from Marilyn Strevens:

“Sicilian born in 1660, Alessandro Scarlatti was trained in Rome but little is known of his musical education. He married in 1678 and later that year was appointed Maestro di Cappella of San Giacomo degli Incurabili. His first large scale oratorio-operatic compositions were performed there when he was only 19.

In 1684 at the age of 24 Scarlatti moved to Naples, For the next two decades over half of the new operas given in Naples we composed by Scarlatti, From 1695 his operas and “musical dramas” incorporated three movement sinfonia which soon became standard for all Italian operas. The Italian opera overture, or sinfonia, contained most of the elements of the pre-classical and classical symphonies. The symphony designed for concert performance may be traced back to the Italian opera overture of Alessandro Scarlatti. In his later years Scarlatti developed his orchestral writing, expanding the sinfonia concept with his twelve “Sinfonie di concerto grosso”.

The Six Concertos for String Orchestra and Cembalo were composed so that they could be performed as string quartets. Scarlatti called them specifically Sonate a quattro and they are some of the earliest forms of chamber music in this genre. This arrangement for Clarinet Quartet has been transcribed for 3 Bb clarinets and a Bass Clarinet, with the
option of an Eb clarinet on part one and a Basset Horn on part three for instrumental colour. The dynamics are suggested by Scarlatti but phrasing and articulations are purely editorial These concertos were publishes 15 years after the composer’s death. Alessandro’s son, Domenico’s work had been popularised in London and it has been suggested that the publisher was “cashing in “ on the Scarlatti name.”

“Concerto II in C minor” is also available in printed edition from June Emerson Wind Music.