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Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
March 8, 1714 - December 14, 1788
born in Weimar, Germany, composed during the Classical period
born in Weimar, Germany, composed during the Classical period
The second surviving son of J.S. Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel was the most innovative and idiosyncratic member of an extremely talented musical family. His music, unlike that of his father or that of the master he influenced, Haydn, did not define an era so much as reveal a deeply personal response to the musical conventions of his time.
C.P.E. Bach could play his father's technically demanding keyboard pieces at sight by the time he was seven. Also an exceptional student in areas other than music, he enrolled at the University of Leipzig in 1731 to study law, then transferred to the University of Frankfurt an der Oder. He graduated in 1734, but remained in that backwater town giving keyboard lessons, involving himself in public concerts, and learning the composer's craft.
By 1740 Bach was in Berlin as harpsichordist to Frederick the Great of Prussia. Here he was first exposed to Italian opera seria, and its dramatic style infiltrated his instrumental music. Little of this was heard at court, where Bach accompanied the flutist-king in one reactionary concerto after another by Quantz. He made several attempts to find a new position, but the stress of the king's disfavor was partially relieved in 1756, when Frederick became distracted by the Seven Years' War and was frequently away from the court. Bach found a select audience for his remarkable and experimental series of keyboard works such as the so-called "Prussian" and "Württemberg" sonatas (composed in the early 1740s) and the Sonatas with Varied Repeats (1760).
Bach finally got himself released from Frederick's service in 1768 in order to succeed Telemann as cantor at the Johanneum in Hamburg, also serving as music director for the city's five major churches; he held this post until his death.
Stylistically distant from his father's rigorous polyphony, C.P.E. Bach was something of a proto-Romantic; he was the master of Empfindsamkeit, or "intimate expressiveness." The dark, dramatic, improvisation-like passages that appear in some of Mozart's and Haydn's works are due in part to his influence; his music in time became known all over Europe. His impulsive works for solo keyboard, which lurch into unexpected keys, change tempo and dynamics abruptly, and fly along with wide-ranging themes, are especially compelling. One account of Bach's after-dinner improvisations described the sweaty, glazed-eyed musician as "possessed," an adjective that would be applied to equally intense and idiosyncratic musicians in the Romantic age. Many of his symphonies are as audacious as his keyboard pieces.
In the area of chamber music, Bach pulled the keyboard out of its subsidiary Baroque role and made it a full partner with, or even leader of, the other instruments. Yet here he fashioned the music to the public's conservative expectations, as he did with his church music. He composed prolifically in many genres, and much of his work awaits public rediscovery.
Bach also produced an important account of performance practice in the second half of the eighteenth century, translated into English as Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments. ~ James Reel, Rovi
C.P.E. Bach could play his father's technically demanding keyboard pieces at sight by the time he was seven. Also an exceptional student in areas other than music, he enrolled at the University of Leipzig in 1731 to study law, then transferred to the University of Frankfurt an der Oder. He graduated in 1734, but remained in that backwater town giving keyboard lessons, involving himself in public concerts, and learning the composer's craft.
By 1740 Bach was in Berlin as harpsichordist to Frederick the Great of Prussia. Here he was first exposed to Italian opera seria, and its dramatic style infiltrated his instrumental music. Little of this was heard at court, where Bach accompanied the flutist-king in one reactionary concerto after another by Quantz. He made several attempts to find a new position, but the stress of the king's disfavor was partially relieved in 1756, when Frederick became distracted by the Seven Years' War and was frequently away from the court. Bach found a select audience for his remarkable and experimental series of keyboard works such as the so-called "Prussian" and "Württemberg" sonatas (composed in the early 1740s) and the Sonatas with Varied Repeats (1760).
Bach finally got himself released from Frederick's service in 1768 in order to succeed Telemann as cantor at the Johanneum in Hamburg, also serving as music director for the city's five major churches; he held this post until his death.
Stylistically distant from his father's rigorous polyphony, C.P.E. Bach was something of a proto-Romantic; he was the master of Empfindsamkeit, or "intimate expressiveness." The dark, dramatic, improvisation-like passages that appear in some of Mozart's and Haydn's works are due in part to his influence; his music in time became known all over Europe. His impulsive works for solo keyboard, which lurch into unexpected keys, change tempo and dynamics abruptly, and fly along with wide-ranging themes, are especially compelling. One account of Bach's after-dinner improvisations described the sweaty, glazed-eyed musician as "possessed," an adjective that would be applied to equally intense and idiosyncratic musicians in the Romantic age. Many of his symphonies are as audacious as his keyboard pieces.
In the area of chamber music, Bach pulled the keyboard out of its subsidiary Baroque role and made it a full partner with, or even leader of, the other instruments. Yet here he fashioned the music to the public's conservative expectations, as he did with his church music. He composed prolifically in many genres, and much of his work awaits public rediscovery.
Bach also produced an important account of performance practice in the second half of the eighteenth century, translated into English as Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments. ~ James Reel, Rovi
Selected Discography
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Track List: C. P. E. Bach: The Complete Keyboard Concertos, Vol.11
Title: Concerto For Harpsichord, 2 Horns, Strings & Continuo In C Minor, H. 448, Wq. 37
Title: Sonatina, Concerto For Harpsichord, 2 Flutes, 2 Horns, Strings & Continuo In G Major, H. 450, Wq. 97
Title: Concerto For Harpsichord, Strings & Continuo In B Flat Major, H. 413, Wq. 10
Title: Sonatina, Concerto For Harpsichord, 2 Flutes, 2 Horns, Strings & Continuo In E Major, H. 455, Wq. 100
x
Track List: C.P.E. BACH COMPLETE FLUTE CONCERTOS
Disc 1
Title: Concerto For Flute, Strings & Continuo In A Minor, H. 431, Wq. 166
Title: Concerto For Flute, Strings & Continuo In B Flat Major, H. 435, Wq. 167
Title: Sonata For Flute In A Minor, H. 562, Wq. 132
Disc 2
Title: Concerto For Flute, Strings & Continuo In A Major, H. 438, Wq. 168
Title: Concerto For Flute, Strings & Continuo In G Major, H. 445, Wq. 169
Title: Concerto For Flute, Strings & Continuo In D Minor, H. 426, Wq. 22
x
Track List: C.P.E. Bach - 8 Symphonies & 3 Quartets / AAM, Hogwood
Disc 1
Title: Sei Sinfonie, Symphonies (6) For Strings & Continuo ("Hamburg"), H. 657-662, Wq. 182
Disc 2
Title: Symphony For 2 Flutes, 2 Horns, Strings & Continuo, H. 649, Wq. 174
Title: Symphony For 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 3 Trumpets, 2 Horns, Timpani, Strings & Continuo In D Major, H. 651, Wq. 176
Title: Quartet For Flute, Viola, Cello & Keyboard In A Minor, H. 537, Wq. 93
Title: Quartet For Flute, Viola, Cello & Keyboard In D Major, H. 538, Wq. 94
Title: Fantasia, For Keyboard In C Major (Kenner V/6), H. 284, Wq. 59/6
Title: Quartet For Flute, Viola, Cello & Keyboard In G Major, H. 539, Wq. 95
x
Track List: C.P.E. Bach: 6 Symphonies
Title: Symphony For Orchestra In D Major (Orchester-sinfonien No. 1), H. 663, Wq. 183/1
Title: Symphony For Orchestra In E Flat Major (Orchester-sinfonien No. 2), H. 664, Wq. 183/2
Title: Symphony For Orchestra In F Major (Orchester-sinfonien No. 3), H. 665, Wq. 183/3
Title: Symphony For Orchestra In G Major (Orchester-sinfonien No. 4), H. 666, Wq. 183/4
Title: Symphony For Strings & Continuo In E Minor, H. 652, Wq. 177
Title: Sei Sinfonie, Symphonies (6) For Strings & Continuo ("Hamburg"), H. 657-662, Wq. 182
x
Track List: C.P.E. Bach: Cello Concertos
Title: Concerto For Cello, Strings & Continuo ("No. 3") In A Major, H. 439, Wq. 172
Title: Concerto For Cello, Strings & Continuo ("No. 1") In A Minor, H. 432, Wq. 170
Title: Concerto For Cello, Strings & Continuo ("No. 2") In B Flat Major, H. 436, Wq. 171
x
Track List: C.P.E. Bach: Complete Keyboard Concertos, Vol.10
Title: Concerto For Harpsichord, Strings & Continuo In G Major, H. 419, Wq. 16
Title: Sonatina, Concerto For Harpsichord, 2 Flutes, 2 Horns, Strings & Continuo In F Major, H. 452, Wq. 99
Title: Concerto For Harpsichord, Strings & Continuo In B Flat Major, H. 447, Wq. 36
x
Track List: C.P.E. Bach: Flute Concertos
Title: Concerto For Flute, Strings & Continuo In A Major, H. 438, Wq. 168
Title: Concerto For Flute, Strings & Continuo In D Minor, H. 426, Wq. 22
Title: Concerto For Flute, Strings & Continuo In G Major, H. 445, Wq. 169
x
Track List: C.P.E. Bach: Keyboard Concertos, Vol. 12
Title: Concerto For Harpsichord, 2 Flutes Ad Lib, Strings & Continuo In F Major, H. 454, Wq. 38
Title: Sonatina, Concerto For Harpsichord, 2 Flutes, 2 Horns, Strings & Continuo In D Major, H. 456, Wq. 102
Title: Concerto For Harpsichord, Strings & Continuo In C Major, H. 423, Wq. 20
x
Track List: C.P.E. Bach: Keyboard Sonatas
Title: Sonata For Keyboard In G Major, H. 56, Wq. 65/22
Title: Sonata For Keyboard In A Major, H. 174, Wq. 65/37
Title: Sonata For Organ (or Harpsichord) In A Major, H. 133, Wq. 70/1
Title: Sonata For Keyboard In B Flat Major, H. 116, Wq. 62/16
Title: Sonata For Keyboard In E Minor, H. 106, Wq. 65/30
Title: Sonata Fürs Bogen-Clavier, For Bowed Keyboard (or Standard Keyboard) In G Major, H. 280, Wq. 65/48
Title: Rondo, For Keyboard No. 1 In E Flat Major (Kenner VI/1), H. 288, Wq. 61/1
x
Track List: C.P.E. Bach: Sei Concerti per il Cembalo Concertato, Wq. 43
Disc 1
Title: Concerto For Harpsichord, 2 Flutes, 2 Horns, Strings & Continuo In F Major (Sei Concerti No. 1), H. 471, Wq 43/1
Title: Concerto For Harpsichord, 2 Flutes, 2 Horns, Strings & Continuo In D Minor (Sei Concerti No. 2), H. 472, Wq. 43/2
Title: Concerto For Harpsichord, 2 Flutes, 2 Horns, Strings & Continuo In E Flat Major (Sei Concerti No. 3), H. 473, Wq. 43/3
Disc 2
Title: Concerto For Harpsichord, 2 Flutes, 2 Horns, Strings & Continuo In C Minor (Sei Concerti No. 4), H. 474, Wq. 43/4
Title: Concerto For Harpsichord, 2 Flutes, 2 Horns, Strings & Continuo In G Major (Sei Concerti No. 5), H. 475, Wq. 43/5
Title: Concerto For Harpsichord, 2 Flutes, 2 Horns, Strings & Continuo In C Major (Sei Concerti No. 6), H. 476, Wq. 43/6
x
Track List: C.P.E. Bach: Sonatas and Rondos
Title: Sonata For Keyboard In D Minor (Forsetzung No. 4), H. 128, Wq. 51/4
Title: Sonata For Keyboard In F Sharp Minor (Zweyte Forsetzung No. 4), H. 37, Wq. 52/4
Title: Sonata For Keyboard In A Major (Kenner I/4), H.186, Wq. 55/4
Title: Rondo, For Keyboard No. 2 In D Minor (Kenner VI/4), H. 290, Wq. 61/4
Title: Sonata For Keyboard In C Major, H. 248, Wq. 65/47
Title: Rondo, For Keyboard No. 3 In B Flat Major (Kenner IV/5), H. 267, Wq. 58/5
Title: Sonata For Keyboard In E Major, H. 83, Wq. 65/29
Title: Sonata For Keyboard In B Minor (Kenner & Liebhaber No. 3), H. 245, Wq. 55/3
x
Track List: C.P.E. Bach: Symphonies/ Concertos
Title: Symphony For 2 Oboes, 2 Horns, Strings & Continuo In E Flat Major, H. 654, Wq. 179
Title: Concerto For Harpsichord, Strings & Continuo In C Major, H. 423, Wq. 20
Title: Symphony For 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Horns, Strings & Continuo In E Minor, H. 653, Wq. 178
Title: Concerto For Cello, Strings & Continuo ("No. 1") In A Minor, H. 432, Wq. 170
Title: Symphony For Strings & Continuo In G Major, H. 648, Wq. 173
x
Track List: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Berlin Symphonies
Title: Symphony For 2 Oboes, 2 Horns, Strings & Continuo In E Flat Major, H. 654, Wq. 179
Title: Symphony For 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Horns, Strings & Continuo In F Major, H. 656, Wq. 181
Title: Symphony For 2 Flutes, 2 Horns, Strings & Continuo, H. 649, Wq. 174
Title: Symphony For 2 Flutes, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns, Strings & Continuo In F Major, H. 650, Wq. 175
Title: Symphony For 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Horns, Strings & Continuo In E Minor, H. 653, Wq. 178
x
Track List: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Cello Concertos
Title: Concerto For Cello, Strings & Continuo ("No. 1") In A Minor, H. 432, Wq. 170
Title: Concerto For Cello, Strings & Continuo ("No. 3") In A Major, H. 439, Wq. 172
Title: Concerto For Cello, Strings & Continuo ("No. 2") In B Flat Major, H. 436, Wq. 171
x
Track List: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Flute Concertos
Title: Concerto For Oboe, Strings & Continuo In B Flat Major, H. 466, Wq. 164
Title: Concerto For Flute, Strings & Continuo In D Minor, H. 426, Wq. 22
Title: Concerto For Oboe, Strings & Continuo In E Flat Major, H. 468, Wq. 165
Comments
However...be t t e r than his father? I want to scoop my eyes out after reading that.