Santo Lapis was dismissed from his post as a music teacher at the Venetian Ospedale dei Mendicanti for being 'too young' and therefore a danger to the young orphan girls he was supposed to teach.
Composition History
The 12 Harpsichord Sonatas are dedicated to 'Lisette Golowkin', the young daughter of a Russian diplomat and granddaughter of a fabulously wealthy High Chancellor of czarist Russia.
Composition History
The work 'La Stravaganza per il cembalo' was composed by Santo Lapis at the request of an anonymous 'noble lord', possibly Count Unico Wilhelm van Wassenaer, a composer himself.
Recording & Production
This album features the world premiere recording of Santo Lapis's 'Sonnates pour le clavessin', based on the original 1746 edition.
Compositional Technique
The first movement of 'La Stravaganza' features numerous clef changes, suggesting a challenge to the performer's ability to read seven different clefs, while the second movement is also suitable for organ.
Composer Biography
Santo Lapis, despite his baptismal name, was known for his libertine private life and was once reported to have run off with a young woman to Germany, leaving his wife in distress.
Compositional Technique
The 12 Harpsichord Sonatas display a solid, slightly conservative taste, full of fantasy and brilliant passage-work, and are bipartite with ritornelli, similar to the style of Domenico Scarlatti.
