Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Magnificat. Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes

Featuring

Fritz Näf
Monika Mauch
Matthias Rexroth
Hans Jörg Mammel
Gotthold Schwarz
L'Arpa festante

Basler Madrigalisten
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach

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Recording & Production

This album features the world premiere recording of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's Magnificat in its original 1749 version and the Christmas cantata 'Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes'.

Composition History

The Christmas cantata 'Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes' is a 'textual-musical parody' that originated from a cantata Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach wrote in 1772 for the installation of a new pastor.

Performer Biography

L'arpa festante, the baroque orchestra on this recording, was founded in 1983, making it one of Germany's most traditional early music ensembles.

Composition History

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's Magnificat, the earliest preserved large vocal work by him, was composed in 1749, likely as an unsuccessful application piece for the Thomaskantor post in Leipzig.

Composer Biography

Until recently, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach was overshadowed by his father, J. S. Bach, as a vocal composer, with many of his works from his Hamburg years (1768-1788) considered lost.

Compositional Technique

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's Magnificat includes an extended double fugue at the end ('Sicut erat in principio'), which directly invites comparison with his father's compositional style.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Unlike his father, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach focused on the general meaning of a verse to ignite his inspiration, rather than representing individual words or phrases in music.