Every time I play the K.1 Scarlatti’s I cannot drive away from my mind the feeling of being on the brink of an abyss, the thought that this Sonata is the beginning of one of the most breathtaking marathons of the music history: the 555 by Domenico Scarlatti, although musicologist still quarrel on the exact number of them. It was surely not easy for Domenico to be the son of such outstanding composer like his father, Alessandro, and we know from the example of Mozart, that this kind of relation can arouse a great bunch of serious psychological discussions. Domenico’s decision to leave Italy (to Portugal and Spain) was probably caused by the need to open his wings (so to speak) far away from the lovely and yet, probably coercive musical presence of “papa” Alessandro. Therefore, the more moving and remarkable feat of Domenico was when he decided to start the incredible adventure into the world of his Sonatas by quoting a theme by his father in the very beginning of the K.1: the first bar from the first movement, Spiritoso e Staccato, of the Concerto n.5 in D minor (same tonality!) from the “12 Sinfonie di Concerto Grosso” (1715).
In my transcription, I changed the tonality to E minor, tuning the third string to F# for achieving a more brilliant sonority, which comes closer to the sonority on the harpsichord.
I am sure you are going to love this piece!