This album is a story of family and friendship. Positioned between homage to a father figure and modernity, the viola da gamba sonatas of Carl Philipp Emanuel and Johann Christian Bach are a revealing element in the history of the Bach family and its ties of friendship with two families of virtuoso instrumentalists, the Abels and the Hesses, who had already inspired the work of Johann Sebastian. Carl Philipp Emanuel was active in Berlin, encouraged by the presence of the violist Ludwig Christian Hesse and the enthusiasm of his patron Frederick the Great ("When I am not reading, I am writing, and when I am not writing, I am playing the viol" wrote his nephew, the future Friedrich Wilhelm II). The friendship between Carl Friedrich Abel and Johann Christian gave rise to the latter's sonatas in London. This Arcana release is not only a continuation of Guido Balestracci's recording of J.S. Bach’s viola da gamba sonatas that was awarded a CHOC by Le Monde de la Musique, but is also a celebration of one of the greatest families in the history of music. Guido Balestracci, together here with keyboard player Paolo Corsi, presents another instalment of his long-term project with the l'Amoroso ensemble: the re-evaluation of the viola da gamba and the other members of its family, with a special focus on the lesser-known post-baroque repertoire. His programmes of music for viol by Schaffrath, Haydn's Divertimenti for baryton, and a Schubertiade based on the arpeggione all bear witness to this.

Internationally acclaimed flutist Ashley Solomon and period ensemble Florilegium present “Spohr Collection, Vol. 2”. Ashley Solomon: “The opportunity of playing original flutes from the 18th century is a rare occurrence. Whenever the chance presents itself, it must be seized immediately!”. On Solomon’s remarkable Spohr Collection, Vol. 1 (CCS43020), he set himself a challenge to record on 9 original flutes, mostly domestic chamber music, together with his colleagues from Florilegium. This new release, Spohr Collection, Vol. 2, features six flute concertos from the 18th century on six unique flutes; some made of ivory, various woods (boxwood and ebony), and one of porcelain and gold. Each instrument is matched with repertoire from the same period it was initially made and played in. This offers a unique insight into the world of the flute virtuoso in the 18th century. These concertos by Vivaldi, C.P.E. Bach, Quantz, Leclair, Blavet and Woodcock invite the listener to experience and enjoy the rich sound world that each of these original flutes conveys.

In musicology, it has always been difficult to name the transitional period after the Baroque. Terms such as "sentimentalism", "Sturm und Drang" or "pre-classical" are usually borrowed from other art forms and are potentially fraught with judgements or preconceptions. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach is one of the key figures of this "in-between time" and one of the representatives of a radical change in musical aesthetics.

The philosopher and aesthetic theorist Johann Georg Sulzer described the ideal "soulful" trio sonata in his "General Theory of the Fine Arts" (1771-1774) as follows: "The actual trio has three main voices, which concert against each other, and as it were maintain a conversation in tones." In his opinion, music should reflect "a sensitive conversation in merely passionate tones among characters that are the same or different from one another". "Singing accompaniment of the theme, appropriate to each instrument; free imitations; unexpected and melodious entrances, in which one voice falls, as it were, into the speech of the other; throughout, a comprehensible and well-cadenced singing and interjections in all voices, without one being obscured by the other; even difficulties and passages of importance, for a change, fill out the remaining part of the piece, and make the trio one of the most pleasant pieces of chamber music." Sulzer also noted, "Good trios of this kind, however, are rare."

According to Sulzer, the sonatas of "our Hamburg Bach" were a prime example of this genre. They "are so eloquent that one thinks one hears not tones but an intelligible language that sets our imagination and sensibilities in motion, and entertains. [...] The sonatas by this same author, with two concertante main voices accompanied by a bass, are truly passionate conversations in tone…”

Manuel Granatiero presents his first solo album, following several successful recordings with Amandine Beyer's Gli Incogniti and Accademia Ottoboni, of which he is a founding member. Here, Manuel is joined by Yu Yashima and Marco Ceccato, as he turns his attention to the flute music of C.P.E. Bach. The outcome of this project is Light and Darkness, five sonatas chosen from the substantial oeuvre that the composer dedicated to this instrument. In addition to the famous sonata for solo flute, the program includes two sonatas with harpsichord obbligato and two sonatas with basso continuo. Demonstrating a wealth of stylistic and writing variety, they represent the entirety of the period in which Bach composed his surviving flute sonatas: BWV1020 written in his youth at his father's house in Leipzig, Wq124 written during his early years of study in Frankfurt, Wq128 and Wq132 during his service at the court of Frederick II, and Wq83 during his mature years in Hamburg. This is therefore a miniature exploration of the universe of the 'Berlin Bach' through some of his most intimate works that encourage us to experience the most diverse human emotions, from the darkest to the brightest ones.

As early as his Piano Concerto in A minor, Wq1, which he composed in Leipzig at the age of 19, it was hard for Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach to conceal his ability to weave his own stylistic flair into the still nascent genre of the piano concerto. This can be seen not only pianistically in unconventional technical demands (leaps of up to two octaves combined with melodic writing, elaborate embellishments and other features typical of instrumental works) but also in unexpected extensions of the formal layout and at times abruptly harsh passages. Starting with Wq1, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach proved the tremendous potential for development and transformation of this genre. The concertos would occupy him all his life and constantly take him along new pathways. Thus, in the course of 55 years a cosmos emerged which only our generation has been given the opportunity to discover.

Radical, daring and extremely refined: that’s how C. P. E. Bach saw his new path for the Oratorio, after his father’s Passions had marked the climax of the baroque era. Encouraged by his godfather Telemann and liberated from the yoke of the capricious Frederick of Prussia, he found himself in Hamburg with an audience hungry for new music. And he brought them his oratorios, no longer in churches but in concert halls, where he demanded the listener’s undivided attention for sudden changes of mood and color. Die Auferstehung und Himmelfahrt Jesu did indeed leave its traces: both Haydn and Beethoven showed great interest after a series of three performances conducted by Mozart in Vienna. Not only did it pave the way for Haydn’s oratorios, but there are also clear influences on the Pamina arias in Die Zauberflöte written a few years later. C. P. E. Bach wrote to his publisher Breitkopf, “I think this is the best work I have ever written.”

Review

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach worked on what he deemed his finest composition, Die Auferstehung und Himmelfahrt Jesu Wq 240 (H. 777), a two-part oratorio to a libretto by Karl Wilhelm Ramler, between 1774 and 1787, when it was published by Breitkopf in Leipzig. The care that Bach took in continuing to revise this work after its first public performance on 18 March 1778 in the Concertsaal auf dem Kamp in Hamburg shows how much value he attached to it. Ramler’s libretto was esteemed before Bach set it to music; Georg Philipp Telemann had already done so in 1760.

The oratorio consists of 22 musical numbers, two of which are short orchestral preludes to each part; the first half pertains to the resurrection of Jesus, the second to his ascension. One characteristic that distinguishes this work from the more famous oratorios by his father (i.e., the Johannes-Passion and the Matthäus-Passion) is that it was meant to be performed in concert rather than as part of a liturgical service. Following its publication, the work received attention from Franz Josph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who directed three performances of it in Vienna at concerts for Gottfried van Swieten’s Gesellschaft der Associierten Cavaliers in 1788. Haydn used an identical distribution of solo voices (one soprano, one tenor, and one baritone) in Die Schöpfung (1798) and Die Jahreszeiten (1801). Despite its initial success and enormous influence on other composers, Bach’s oratorio did not find favour during the nineteenth century; performances remain infrequent.

The recording by the Vlaams Radiokoor and Il Gardellino Baroque Orchestra under the direction of Bart van Reyn conveys thorough commitment to this lesser-known masterpiece. The chorus sings with precision and emotion; the orchestra plays on period instruments with brisk tempos that never feel rushed and a textural clarity that is not dry. Lore Binon, the soprano soloist, has clear diction and a lyrical voice; Kieran Carrel, the tenor, delivers the recitatives and arias with authority; and Andreas Wolf, the baritone, has a strong voice that imparts warmth and reverence, two emotions critical to the subject matter.

Knowledge of CPE Bach’s oratorio is essential for understanding the development of Austro-German music in the late eighteenth century. Haydn’s oratorios and Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte would not have been possible without Bach’s precedent. This recording will hopefully draw attention to this work that not only inspired other composers but is great music that belongs in the oratorio repertoire.

--MusicWeb International (Daniel Floyd)

With these sonatas by C.P.E. Bach, François Lazarevitch continues the exploration of the jewels of the flute and recorder repertory he has embarked on with Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien or as a soloist with recordings of music by Bach, Telemann, Vivaldi, and van Eyck. François Lazarevitch and Justin Taylor now bring their sensitivity and virtuosity to bear on the sonatas for flute and obbligato harpsichord of Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach.

The majority of these works date from the years 1745-66, when he was in the service of the flute-playing King Frederick II. Two solos complete the program: the famous Sonata in A minor for unaccompanied flute and the Fantasia in F# minor for keyboard, which testifies to Emanuel’s improvisational artistry.

Situated at the epicenter of the Enlightenment era, Bach’s second son was the key figure of Empfindsamkeit (Sensibility), the movement that explored the deep and unfathomable stirrings of humanity and nature, countering the learned style of the early eighteenth-century masters with freedom of inspiration and hence emancipation of form. The artist now sought above all to express the impulses of the soul, displaying unexpected traits that sometimes verge on the bizarre.