There were no such problems for Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788), the younger brother of Wilhelm
Friedemann by four years. He went on to become the most famous and most prolific
son of Johann Sebastion Bach (1685-1750). One of Carl Philipp Emanuel’s
godfathers was Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) and was only nine when his
father became Kantor of Leipzig Thomasschule. Carl Philipp Emanuel always made
it clear that his only teacher was his father. He appears not to have seriously
studied any instrument other than the keyboard, being able to play his father’s
pieces at sight by the age of eleven.
Carl Philipp Emanuel studied law at Leipzig University and
later at the University of Frankfurt, where, his studies completed, he stayed
for a while supporting himself by giving keyboard lessons, composing and
directing concerts. In 1738 he received an offer from the Crown Prince of
Prussia, later to become Frederick II of Prussia, to become his harpsichordist
in Berlin. Carl Philipp Emanuel stayed in the service of Frederick the Great
for nearly thirty years. He later remembered that he ‘had the honour of
accompanying in Charlottenburg, alone at the harpsichord, the first flute solo
played by Frederick as king.’ There exists a famous painting by Adolph von
Menzel (1815-1905) in the Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin of a candlelit musical
evening where Carl Philipp Emanuel and a few other musicians accompany
Frederick as soloist.
In 1768 Carl Philipp Emanuel, now 54 years of age and the
most famous keyboard player and teacher in Europe took up a new position in
Hamburg as Kantor of the Johanneum and director of music at the five principal
churches, succeeding his godfather, Telemann. His responsibilities were
colossal in that he had to provide around 200 musical performances annually
between the five churches, including ten Passions within 13 days).
However, Carl Philipp Emanuel thrived on all this activity
and even found the onerous administrative duties relatively easy. One of the
visitors to his home in Hamburg was the Austrian Ambassador to Prussia,
Gottfried van Swieten (1733-1803) who was later responsible for performances of
Carl Philipp Emanuel’s music in Vienna, becoming a source of inspiration for
Mozart.
Another link between Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and the later
tradition of Mozart and Beethoven was Beethoven’s teacher, Christian Gottlob Neefe
(1748-1798), who was a great admirer of Carl Philipp Emanuel whose works were
basic to his teaching of Beethoven.
By the time that Carl Philipp Emanuel died on 14th
December 1788, such was his fame that Haydn, returning to Vienna from London,
stopped at C P E Bach’s house hoping to meet him. Sadly it was too late.
It is this link between the keyboard concertos of Johann Sebastian
Bach and those of Mozart and Beethoven that makes Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s
works in this form so important.
Back in 1995, BIS Records www.bis.se
started recording the complete Keyboard Concertos of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
with the Hungarian organist and harpsichordist, Miklós Spányi http://miklosspanyi.de , who has himself edited
several volumes of C.P.E. Bach’s solo keyboard music. The latest release, Volume
19, as with all in this series, features Concerto Armonico, Budapest, directed
by Spányi. www.concertoarmonico.com/hu
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| BIS 1957 |
All the concertos on this disc are fairly late works, dating
from his time in Hamburg. Carl Philipp
Emanuel’s Concerto in G major Wq 43/5 dates
from 1772, the first movement of which is marked Adagio – Presto. Miklós Spányi plays a harpsichord built in 2007 by
Michael Walker of Neckargemünd, Germany after Joannes Daniel Dulcken, Antwerp
1745 with the addition of a swell device. Spányi opens with a short languid adagio before the vibrant presto arrives with some terrific
playing, full of vibrancy and clarity. Concerto Armonico are spot on with
terrific ensemble and crisp playing. Just before the end there is C P E Bach’s
own little cadenza. The short Adagio
repeats the opening of the first movement before developing the material in
this lovely movement, made especially attractive by Spányi’s sensitive playing
and a gorgeous instrumental sound from Concerto Armonico. The lively Allegro dances forward with an appealing
joyfulness. Spányi is excellent, combining detail and a feeling of forward flow,
with nicely sprung rhythms. This is such an attractive theme that sticks in the
mind.
The Walker harpsichord is used in the Concerto in C major Wq 43/6 (1772), the Allegro di molto of
which opens with Concerto Armonico and the lovely sound of the natural horns. There
is an attractive musical conversation between harpsichord and ensemble as this
terrific allegro rolls along. Spányi, directing Concerto Armonico, play so well
together with great ensemble. Towards the end of this movement there is the
composer’s own cadenza, brilliantly played.
A somewhat serious Largetto follows
where the harpsichord shares the theme with the ensemble, Spányi drawing out
much feeling before the movement suddenly comes to an end. A confident Allegro sweeps away any gloom with an opening for instrumental
ensemble. When the harpsichord enters, in this steadily paced, flowing allegro
it is clear that Spányi really has the measure of this piece with his tempo
contrasting with the first movement allegro
di molto. Again there is Carl Philipp Emanuel’s attractive dovetailing of
harpsichord and orchestra and a lovely hushed section near the end.
In the Concerto in G
major Wq 44 (1778) Spányi opts for a 1798 Broadwood fortepiano. In his
booklet note on the choice of keyboard instruments, Spányi takes note of the
keyboard textures of Wq 44 and its suitability for the fortepiano. Carl Philipp
Emanuel may well have used either a harpsichord or fortepiano but, in this
performance, the choice of fortepiano certainly pays off, with the distinctive
sound of the instrument coming through the orchestral texture right from the
start of the Allegretto. The
Broadwood has a fine articulation in Bach’s rapid notes, in this attractive
opening movement. What also works so well is the sense of drama between fortepiano
and ensemble, surely anticipating Beethoven, though with a Mozartian keyboard
flow. There is a terrific little solo before the coda. A leisurely Andantino follows, that shows off some
of the Broadwood’s lovely timbres with some fine playing from Spányi, who himself
provides an attractive cadenza. The Allegro
suddenly opens, with a lively little motif on the fortepiano before the
orchestra soon joins to develop the theme, progressing with lovely little fits
and starts.
Spányi seems to have had to decide between harpsichord and
fortepiano for the Concerto in D Major
Wq 45 (1778), either of which were probably used by the composer. Spányi
settled on the Walker harpsichord again, mainly because of its swell device
that makes subtle dynamic variations possible. There is an instrumental opening
to the Allegretto with some lovely
sounds from Concerto Armonico, with the harpsichord subtly joining. Again there
are those lovely natural horns sounding through. Spányi’s phrasing is spot on
yet never losing the flow. The harpsichord does have the advantage of greater
clarity with a sense of flow and articulation in this attractive allegretto. There
is a terrific cadenza brilliantly played by Spányi. A quiet and gentle Andantino follows where Spányi uses so much of the harpsichord’s
various sounds to great effect. A really vivacious, lively Allegro has Spányi and Concerto Armonico providing superb playing,
at turns mellow and flowing then dynamic and gutsy.
This is an engaging disc full of memorable music as well as
pointing towards the developments of concerto form. The recording is first rate
and there are excellent booklet notes.
See also:
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