The two sonatas from C.P.E. Bach's 'for connoisseurs and music-lovers' collection represent his transition from the harpsichord to the more malleable textures of the 18th-century piano.
Instruments
The clavichord, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's favorite instrument, allowed for a vibrato effect called Bebung, produced by varying pressure on the key while the metal tangent remained in contact with the string.
Performer Biography
Marc-André Hamelin, the pianist on this album, is known for his technical prowess and exploration of rare works, and has received numerous awards including seven Juno Awards and eleven Grammy nominations.
Compositional Technique
The early piano allowed composers like Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach to introduce sudden changes of character within a fraction of a moment or even within a single phrase.
Instruments
The early pianos known to Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, while lacking the harpsichord's angularity, offered a remarkable range of colors through infinite gradations of accent.
Composer Biography
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, one of J.S. Bach's sons, went into court and then municipal service in Berlin and Hamburg, positioning himself at the junction of philosophers, visual artists, and literati.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments (1753) was a comprehensive guide to keyboard technique, which Haydn called the 'school of schools'.
You might also enjoy...
C.P.E. Bach: The Complete Works for Piano Solo, Vol. 12
C.P.E. Bach: Keyboard Sonatas & Rondos
Complete CPE Bach
C.P.E. Bach: The Complete Works for Piano Solo, Vol. 18
