The performer, Miklós Spányi, chose to alternate sonatas with minuets and polonaises in the same key to create an interesting contrast for the listener, even though the composer did not intend them as pairs.
Compositional Technique
C.P.E. Bach's minuets are typically pairs, with a repetition of the first minuet after the second, creating an ABA form.
Composer's Artistic Vision
C.P.E. Bach's dances, such as the minuets and polonaises on this album, emphasize entertainment and feature 'sweet' and 'popular' melodies, contrasting with his often dramatic sonatas.
Instruments
The clavichord used on this recording is a 1999 facsimile by Joris Potvlieghe of a 1785 instrument by Gottfried Joseph Horn, now in the Musikinstrumentenmuseum in Leipzig.
Composer Biography
During the Seven Years' War (1756-1766), when King Friedrich II was absent or indifferent to his musical establishment, C.P.E. Bach composed over 120 solo keyboard works.
Historical Context
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach composed the three sonatas on this album in 1763, the year the Seven Years' War ended, which established Prussia as a world power.
Performer Biography
Miklós Spányi, the performer, has concentrated his work as a performer and researcher on the oeuvre of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and has actively worked to revive C.P.E. Bach's favorite instrument, the clavichord.
