C.P.E. Bach & Abel: Sonatas for Viola da gamba & Fortepiano

Featuring

Rebeka Rusó
Sebastian Wienand
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
Carl Friedrich Abel

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Performer Biography

Sebastian Wienand, the fortepiano player on this album, was responsible for the recitative accompaniment on the hammerclavier in the celebrated, multi-award-winning recording of Mozart's Idomeneo.

Composer Biography

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and Carl Friedrich Abel, two composers featured on this album, were contemporaries who knew each other from their time in Leipzig, and their fathers were also friends.

Performer Biography

Rebeka Rusó, the viola da gamba player on this album, was a prize winner at the 1997 Bach-Abel Competition for viola da gamba in Köthen.

Instruments

The fortepiano, used in this recording, gained popularity in the 18th century because its wide range of tonal possibilities and emotional spectrum were well-suited to the expressive compositional styles of the era.

Instruments

The viola da gamba, an instrument featured on this album, was considered 'exotic and elitist' in the 18th century due to its tender, nuanced tone, contrasting with the louder Italian violin family.

Composer's Artistic Vision

The music of C.P.E. Bach, one of the composers on this album, is characterized by discontinuous flow, rapid changes of 'affect,' and surprising harmonies, aligning with the 'Empfindsamkeit' and 'Sturm und Drang' styles.

Composition History

Carl Friedrich Abel's Sonata in E minor, featured on this album, was composed during his 1781 visit to Berlin and Potsdam for Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm II, who played the viola da gamba and cello.