Under its lovely semblance, this sonata shows us a dark side of Scarlatti (in musical terms, of course). Even if we don’t find here the experimental harmonies of some other sonatas, their color is very peculiar and obscure, they cause a strange sense of sweet sadness, in the same way it happens when listening to some masterpieces by W.A.Mozart, also written in major key.
 
We have the feeling that Don Domenico is holding a speech to us with a tight-lipped smile. The use of the Lydian at the end of each of the two parts heightens even more our sense of tonal and emotional estrangement. In the same way it happens in life, when something or someone makes us drop a tear with a sweet, sad smile on the face.