Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
Other music by CPE Bach Solfeggietto Sorry, your browser either has JavaScript disabled or does not have any supported player. You can download the clip or download a player to play the clip in your browser. Freie Fantasie, F sharp minor Sorry, your browser either has JavaScript disabled or does not have any supported player. You can download the clip or download a player to play the clip in your browser. Performed by Joan Benson (clavichord) Flute Concerto in G major – 1. Allegro Sorry, your browser either has JavaScript disabled or does not have any supported player. You can download the clip or download a player to play the clip in your browser. Performed by the Advent Chamber Orchestra with Constance Schoepflin (flute) Flute Concerto in G major – 2. Largo Sorry, your browser either has JavaScript disabled or does not have any supported player. You can download the clip or download a player to play the clip in your browser. Performed by the Advent Chamber Orchestra with Constance Schoepflin (flute) Flute Concerto in G major – 3. Presto Sorry, your browser either has JavaScript disabled or does not have any supported player. You can download the clip or download a player to play the clip in your browser. Performed by the Advent Chamber Orchestra with Constance Schoepflin (flute) Problems playing these files? See media help. See also: Bach family, List of compositions by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and Category:Compositions by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Symphonies[edit] Among Bach's most popular and recorded works are his symphonies. While in Berlin, he wrote several string symphonies (Wq. 173–181), most of which were later revised to add parts for wind instruments. Of these, the E minor symphony, Wq. 178 has been particularly popular. In Hamburg, Bach wrote a major set of six string symphonies for Gottfried van Swieten, Wq. 182. These works were not published in his lifetime (van Swieten, who had commissioned them to be written in a more "difficult" style, preferred to retain them for private use, ) but since their rediscovery, have become increasingly popular. However, Bach's masterpieces in the form (by his own estimation ) are assuredly the four Orchester-Sinfonien mit zwölf obligaten Stimmen, Wq. 183, which, as their title suggests, were written with obbligato wind parts that are integral to the texture, rather than being added on to an older string symphony. The first symphony (D major) in the set has been particularly popular, seeing a continuous performance and publication tradition all the way through the 19th century, which makes it the earliest such symphony. Some of its more unusual features have been taken as characteristic of Bach's style: the work, although it is in D major, begins on a D major chord, which then turns into a D dominant-seventh chord, outlining G major. In fact, there is no cadence on D major (D major is not "confirmed" as the key of the piece) until the beginning of the recapitulation, quite late in the piece. Concertos[edit] Bach was a prolific writer of concertos, especially for keyboard. Like his father, he would often transcribe a concerto for various instruments, leading to problems determining which came first. For instance, the three cello concertos (Wq. 170–172), which are cornerstones of that instrument's repertoire, have often been considered to be transcriptions of the harpsichord versions, but recent research has suggested that they might be originally for cello. Bach's greatest keyboard concertos (by his own estimation ) were the Sei concerti per il cembalo concertato, Wq. 43, which were written to be somewhat more appealing, and somewhat easier to play. His other concertos were written for oboe, flute, and organ. Bach also wrote for more unusual combinations, including an E-flat major concerto for harpsichord and piano. Additionally, he wrote several sonatinas for one or more keyboards and orchestra. Chamber music[edit] Bach's chamber music forms something of a bridge between stereotypically Baroque and Classical forms. On the one hand, he wrote trio sonatas and solo sonatas with basso continuo (including ones for harp and viola da gamba); on the other, he wrote several accompanied sonatas for piano, violin, and cello, which are more or less early piano trios, and three very popular quartets for keyboard, flute, and viola. Bach also wrote one of the earliest pieces for solo flute, a sonata that is clearly influenced by his father's Partita in A minor for solo flute, BWV 1013. Keyboard sonatas[edit] Bach was a prolific writer of keyboard sonatas, many of which were intended for his favored instrument, the clavichord. During his lifetime, he published more collections of keyboard music than anything else, in the following collections: Sei sonate per cembalo che all' augusta maestà di Federico II, re di Prussia, 1742 ("Prussian" sonatas), Wq. 48. Sei sonate per cembalo, dedicate all' altezza serenissima di Carlo Eugenio, duca di Wirtemberg, 1744 ("Württemberg" sonata