Padre Antonio Soler (1729-1783): Sonatas & Fandango

00:00 Sonata in G minor MV 38 Allegretto
03:54 Sonata in D minor MV 8 Andante
11:03 Sonata in B minor MV 16 Allegro
15:23 Sonata in C major MV 11 Allegro presto
20:15 Sonata in G minor MV 21 Prestissimo, Cantabile, Allegro
23:33 Sonata in E minor MV 6 Allegro
26:47 Sonata in G major MV 48 Allegro soffribile
31:20 Sonata in C minor MV 12 Andantino
38:42 Sonata in G minor MV 3 Allegro
41:39 Sonata in F sharp major MV 37 Allegro
46:10 Sonata in D minor MV 28 Allegro
49:48 Sonata in F major MV 27 Andante cantabile
57:54 Sonata in C minor MV 44 Andante, Allegro
1:06:17 Fandango in D minor MV 1a

Frederick Marvin, piano

The Sonatas and the Fandango are recorded from several concerts during the years 1969-86 and from two Soler-Festivals from the University Syracuse

Arte: Tipos populares (c1774), por Lorenzo Tiepolo (1736-1776)

My enthusiasm for the music of Padre Antonio Soler began already 1946 in a second-hand shop in Los Angeles. There I found two music volumes with sonatas from scarcely known Spanish and Portuguese composers of the 18th century, edited by Joaquín Nin in 1925. Among these sonatas were some of a padre Antonio Soler. I saw quickly that these were quite unusual and beautiful. This started the saga of my discovery of a great, forgotten composer.

The birth date of Soler is not known. We know from the baptismal book of the Church San Esteban in Olot, north of Barcelona, that on December 3, 1729, a son of Marcos Mateo Soler was baptized: Antonio Francisco Javier José Soler Ramos. His father, musician in the Regiment of Numancia, brought the only six years old Antonio to the well-known singing school ¨Escolanía¨ in the ¨Monastery of Montserrat¨, Barcelona, where the boy very quickly showed his great gifts and his extraordinary talent in harmony and composition and soon also on the organ and harpsichord.

At the age of twenty-three, Soler entered the Hyeronymite order of the ¨Monastery San Lorenzo del Escorial¨ by Madrid, and became the permanent organist. After his probationary year he was described in the Escorial ¨capitular acts¨ as ¨satisfactory in Latin, but excellent at the organ and in composition¨.

In 1753 Soler was ordained priest and in 1757 became ¨Maestro de Capilla¨ (Music and Choir Director). Despite his many duties as Monk, Priest and Maestro de Capilla, Soler tirelessly composed an astonishingly huge amount of musical works. As it is handed down, he needed little sleep, went not to bed until after midnight and was ready for Mass at four in the morning. The assiduous monk built himself a small table so that he could compose when sick in bed.

Soler had a close relationship with the royal court. Prince Gabriel de Bourbon, son of Carlos III, was not only his student but also his close friend, admirer and later his patron. Soler dedicated many of his works to the prince. The royal family always spent autumn in the Monastery-Church-palace Escorial (built by Philipp II, 1565-1584, also as a burial place for the royal families). The royal entourage to Escorial included the musicians José Nebra and Domenico Scarlatti. It is not documented if Soler became a pupil of Scarlatti. He came to Escorial in 1752 and Scarlatti died already five years later. Soler was very familiar with the music of the fourty-four years older Scarlatti, who likely had an influence on him, but without doubt Soler created his own style. He never mentions Scarlatti as his teacher, not even in his famous book ¨Llave de la modulación¨ in which he names all his teachers. Antonio Soler had in El Escorial a harpsichord as well as a forte-piano at his disposal.

The octave passages and pianistic figures show to a musician, that Soler composed also for the piano of the 18th century, just as Scarlatti wrote many of later sonatas for this instrument. The well-known harpsichordist Fernando Valenti tried to play Soler´s ¨Fandango¨ on his instrument and told me it is impossible to realize it on the harpsichord; it could have been composed only for the forte-piano.

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