A few years later, he collected a number of his older pieces into two more volumes. But then, ill health and gambling debts galvanised him into finding his voice. During his last 6 years 1752-7, he transferred his keyboard skill to paper in the form of some two hundred suites which he called sonatas. They combine pure joyous harpsichord sounds with the taut rhythms of Spanish dance and the harmonic brilliance of his Italian heritage to a degree that places him among the greatest musicians of all time. For a performer, there is always a conflict between saying as much as one can with each individual piece, and being faithful to the lifetime-built philosophy of the composer.
Intellect produces complexity, but feeling demands simplicity.
Most performers faced with the range and quantity of Scarlatti's music quickly choose a few pieces, display his at-times breathtaking technique, and interpret him as a capricious mannerist. This tendency is exacerbated by the characteristics of the piano, to which Scarlatti's sounds do not transfer well. Here, I attempt the opposite - to present the overall stylistic development and cumulative achievement of a great musical colourist, on the instrument which was his canvas. MIDI is a system of recording the finger motions of a keyboard player, rather than recording the sound produced by the player's instrument. Just as Scarlatti's keyboard technique was far beyond that of most of his contemporaries, so recordings such as these are beyond current MIDI practise.