From St Mark's to the keyboard sonata

At St Mark's and the city's other churches, organists worked in spaces shaped by galleries, ceremony and strong acoustic contrasts. Cavazzoni helped establish an independent repertory for keyboard; Merulo and the Gabrielis made Venice a European point of reference for contrapuntal and ceremonial writing. A century later, Vivaldi's concertos carried Venetian instrumental energy across Europe; this collection includes solo-organ adaptations, standalone keyboard versions, and clearly marked harpsichord or continuo parts intended to be played with orchestra or ensemble.

The keyboard could imitate speech: hesitate, accelerate, ornament and surprise. Frescobaldi's toccatas and liturgical organ music became models far beyond Italy. Rossi and Pasquini carried the improvisatory tradition into new forms and new generations.

The single-movement sonata became a laboratory for touch, rhythm and hand-crossing. Alessandro Scarlatti stands at the operatic and keyboard threshold; Domenico transformed the sonata at the Iberian courts. Galuppi, Zipoli and their contemporaries reveal how widely Italian keyboard styles travelled.