Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, was known as the 'philosopher king' and surrounded himself with leading intellectuals and musicians, including Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach.
Historical Context
The viola da gamba, for which these sonatas were composed, was going out of fashion in the 18th century, better suited to aristocratic salons than larger concert halls.
Compositional Technique
The Empfindsamer Stil, or 'sentimental style,' used sudden changes of tempo or dynamics, chromaticism, unusual harmonies, and dissonant appoggiaturas to create emotional music.
Composer Biography
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, the composer, worked at the court of Frederick the Great in Berlin, a major cultural center.
Compositional Technique
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's "Sechs Sonaten fürs Clavier mit veränderten Reprisen" (six sonatas for keyboard with varied reprises) explicitly wrote out ornamentation for repeats, rather than leaving it to the performer's improvisation.
Composition History
The works for viola da gamba on this album were inspired by Ludwig Christian Hesse, the court gambist to Frederick the Great, who was considered the finest gambist in Europe.
Composer's Artistic Vision
The Berlin court was a testing ground for pre-Romantic ideas in music, giving rise to the Empfindsamer Stil, or 'sentimental style,' which aimed to elicit emotional responses.
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