You can now listen to all 555 keyboard sonatas by Scarlatti at the same time
A YouTube user mixed the audio and, well, it's a lot
The 555 keyboard sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti comprise one of the greatest collections of keyboard music by a single composer. And now, thanks to YouTube user and harpsichordist Antoine Souchav, we know what it would sound like if all of them were played simultaneously.
Souchav took the audio of all 555 sonatas played by Scott Ross and layered it in a single video. At least, we assume it's Ross since the brief video description is "Sssssccccooooootttttt Rrrrrooooosssss." (Incidentally, Ross spent many years teaching at Laval University in Quebec City.)
The resulting sound falls somewhere between acute tinnitus and the Shepard tone. But, at around the six-minute mark, you can start to hear distinct lines emerge from the sound mass, as only the longest of "the 555" continue playing. Stick around until 6:25 and you'll hear the strains of Scarlatti's Sonata in G Major, K. 105, bringing the video to a close.
Does the world need this? Probably not. Is it cool? A bit, yeah. Listen below.