The Classical Music Book

120

I

n 1738, the young C.P.E., or

Emanuel, Bach was appointed

court harpsichordist in the

household of the Crown Prince

Frederick of Prussia. Two years later

the prince acceded to the throne

and became known as Frederick

the Great as his power increased.

Emanuel, as Bach was known,

traveled with the court to Berlin,

where he lived as a court musician

for 28 years. The best keyboard

player of his generation, he

attracted widespread admiration

but never felt truly valued. Court

musicians of the time had the

status of servants, and had to write

and play music that suited their

employer’s tastes.

The king calls the tune

Frederick was an accomplished

flautist. Emanuel was therefore

junior to the much better paid court

flautist Johann Joachim Quantz

and had the task of accompanying

the king in court concerts. He was

also expected to compose music for

Frederick to play—pieces such as

his Flute Concerto in A major. To

save time, Emanuel took concertos

that he had written for another

IN CONTEXT

FOCUS

A new freedom

of expression

BEFORE

1750 C.P.E. Bach writes a

setting of the Magnificat in

a style like that of J.S. Bach,

possibly in a bid to secure his

father’s former job as cantor of

the Thomasschule in Leipzig.

AFTER

1772 Joseph Haydn writes his

Symphony No. 44, the “Trauer”

(Mourning) symphony, a

masterpiece of the portrayal of

emotion in orchestral music.

1777 Johann Christian Bach,

Emanuel’s younger brother,

publishes his Op. 13 Keyboard

Concertos, almost the musical

opposite of Emanuel’s

dramatic, emotional music.

1779 C.P.E. Bach begins to

publish his series of rondos

and other solo keyboard works

that mark the high point of his

“emotional” musical style.

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach

The second

surviving son

of Johann

Sebastian

Bach, Emanuel

was born in

Weimar, Germany, in 1714. His

father nurtured his son’s gift

for the harpsichord.

Emanuel studied law before

devoting all his time to music.

In the service of Frederick the

Great from 1740, he composed

works for the court musicians

and wrote a treatise on playing

keyboard instruments. He is,

however, best known for the

symphonies and concertos in a

highly personal and emotional

style that were written later

in his career. Emanuel died in

Hamburg in 1788, aged 74.

Other key works

1749 Magnificat in D, Wq 215

1775 –1776 Symphonies, Wq 183

1783–1787 Keyboard Sonatas,

Fantasias and Rondos, Wq 58,

59, 61

WE MUST PLAY FROM

THE SOUL, NOT LIKE

TRAINED BIRDS

FLUTE CONCERTO IN A MAJOR, WQ 168 (1753),

CARL PHILIPP EMANUEL BACH

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