Anna Paradiso, the performer, is one of the most prominent harpsichord players in Sweden, having moved there from Italy in 2006, and has released ten previous recordings with BIS.
Interpretation
Anna Paradiso uses three different keyboard instruments on this recording—harpsichord, clavichord, and fortepiano—to explore how instrument choice can alter the emotional message and expressive outcomes of the music.
Composer Biography
Pier Domenico Paradisi, the composer, often added the epithet 'Napolitano' to his signature, suggesting he was born in Naples or the Kingdom of Naples around 1706 or 1707.
Historical Context
The clavichord was very popular in 18th-century Sweden, and the Swedish composer Johan Helmich Roman admired Paradisi's music, performing it at public concerts.
Critical Reception
Despite their 18th-century popularity and admiration from figures like Leopold Mozart, Paradisi's sonatas are surprisingly little known or performed today, especially outside Italy.
Composition History
Paradisi's twelve sonatas for harpsichord were first published in London in 1754 and became very popular, being reprinted at least seven times in the 18th century.
Compositional Technique
Paradisi's sonatas often anticipate Haydn's monothematic sonata form, with first movements rarely introducing a second theme, instead using a 'minimalistic approach' where thematic material remains essentially the same.
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