Padre Soler is best known for having composed a breath-taking fandango
for harpsichord. A Catalan, he was a pupil of Domenico Scarlatti, and it is thanks to his copies that some of Scarlatti’s sonatas have survived . Not only did Soler compose over a hundred pieces for the keyboard as well as a great deal of vocal music, but he also distinguished himself as a theorist. The quintets are inspired by his collaboration with Infante Gabriel and provided a model for a completely new formation in the history of European music of that period. They are full of both vitality and delicacy.
