The Man
- Full name: Carl Phillip Emanuel Bach
- Born 8th March 1714, died 14th December 1788
- Fifth child and second surviving son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Maria Barbara Bach
- Named in honour of his godfather Georg Philipp Telemann
- Entrepreneurial - establishing a system of agents in many of the musical capitals, which ensured the circulation of his work across Europe
- Mozart famously said of him ‘Bach is the father. We are the children!’
- In the second half of 18th Century, the name ‘Bach’ was almost exclusively associated with Carl Philipp Emanuel, and not his father John Sebastian.
His Times
- Born at a time of transition between the Baroque and Classical Eras, his work filled a vast stylistic gap between these two musical styles.
His Work
- He was the foremost representative of Empfindsamer or ‘sentimental style’
- This style tried to forge a direct emotional connection between the musician and listeners, valuing intimacy and passion.
- One of his greatest achievements- The Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments- remains the most famous treatise of its kind and is in fact a work of prose.
- It provides technical advice and introduces the now standard practice of using thumbs in keyboard playing.
- It also emphasised a performance style which for the first time placed emotional expression on level pegging with technical capability, saying:
‘Since a musician cannot move others unless he himself is moved, he must of necessity feel all of the effects that he hopes to arouse in his listeners’
Keywords:
- Unorthodox
- Forward-thinking
- Transitional
- Dynamic
Southern Sinfonia performs CPE Bach's Magnificat with Somerset Chamber Choir on Saturday 28th July at Wells Cathedral.
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