Depending on your level or breath of interest, and if you would especially appreciate a musician/producer's perspective, I can recommend two CDs by Bob James: Rameau, and The Scarlatti Dialogues. I specifically recommend the liner notes in the CDs in which the Rhodes Scholar describes and reflects on his synthesizing experiences and production --interesting heady thoughts on "authenticity" and creativity. The Dialogues notes, in particular, are a creative, fascinating, and fun technique wherein he simulates a dialogue with Domenico Scarlatti on the subject.
I much prefer listening to wonderful Tharaud and Horowitz recordings of Scarlatti, of course. (Rameau, I don't even recall what I might have.) But, I've surely reflected more on James's notes over the years, including whenever synthesizer queries like yours surface.