“The earliest string quartets” was how the great musicologist Edward Dent described Alessandro Scarlatti's set of four sonatas, published here for the first time in their original scoring. All in minor keys, these works are unique for the energy of the fugal writing, the passionate chromaticism of the slow movements and the playful, asymmetrical phrasing of the final Minuets. The scoring leaves open a range of performance possibilities, from one to a part, with or without continuo, to orchestral performance. This new edition provides a valuable opportunity to discover the music of an innovative genius whose extensive output remains largely unexplored.