While C. P. E. Bach played harpsichord, he loved the clavichord, and it is possible he performed these works on the fortepiano, an instrument present at Frederick's court by the late 1740s.
Composer's Artistic Vision
C. P. E. Bach perfected a highly original and intensely personal compositional style known as the empfindsamer Stil (sensitive style).
Critical Reception
The 'Prussian Sonatas' (Bach's first published keyboard collection) made a major impact on keyboard-writing in Germany and were praised by contemporaries like Joseph Haydn.
Composer Biography
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, the second son of Johann Sebastian Bach, was both revered and criticized by his contemporaries for his bold musical style.
Composition History
All works on this recording were composed in the 1740s while C. P. E. Bach was in the service of King Frederick II of Prussia, a feared military potentate and flautist.
Cultural Impact
C. P. E. Bach's experimentation with rapid mood change and harmonic surprise anticipates 19th-century Romanticism, influencing figures like Beethoven and Schumann.
Compositional Technique
Bach's empfindsamer Stil is characterized by frequent mood changes, wide melodic leaps, abundant rests, 'sighing' motifs, and irregular phrase structures.
