Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel

Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel
born March 8, 1714, Weimar, Saxe-Weimar
died Dec. 14, 1788, Hamburg

German composer.

Second son of Johann Sebastian Bach, he received a superb musical education from his father. In 1740 he became harpsichordist at the court of Frederick II the Great, where he remained for 28 years, after which he moved to Hamburg to take the city's leading musical position. He was a leader of the Empfindsamkeit ("sensitivity") movement, which emphasized rhapsodic freedom and sentiment. A founder of the Classical style, he is one of the first composers in whose works sonata form becomes clearly evident. He wrote some 200 works for harpsichord, clavichord, and piano (including dozens of sonatas), some 50 keyboard concertos, many symphonies, and several oratorios and Passions. His Essay on the True Manner of Playing Keyboard Instruments (1753) was a highly important practical music treatise.

C.P.E. Bach, engraving by A. Stöttrup

Courtesy of Haags Gementemuseum, The Hague

* * *

▪ German composer

born March 8, 1714, Weimar, Saxe-Weimar [Germany]
died Dec. 14, 1788, Hamburg
 second surviving son of J.S. and Maria Barbara Bach (Bach, Johann Sebastian), and the leading composer of the early Classical period.

      A precocious musician who remained successful, C.P.E. Bach was his father's true successor and an important figure in his own right. In his autobiography he writes: “For composition and keyboard-playing, I have never had any teacher other than my father.” He studied law, taking his degree at Frankfurt in 1735, although he probably never had any intention of a career other than music.

      In 1740 he was appointed harpsichordist to Frederick II of Prussia. Frederick was a good flutist and so fond of music that he had his court orchestra accompany him in concerti every night except Mondays and Fridays, which were opera nights. The subservience that he required from his distinguished harpsichordist grew irksome, but it was not until 1767 that Bach was able to resign his Berlin post to take up an appointment as music director at Hamburg. Meanwhile, he had married (1744), published his Versuch über die wahre Art das Klavier zu spielen (1753, rev. ed. 1787; Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments), and acquired an enviable reputation, as a composer, performer, and teacher.

      Unlike his elder brother Wilhelm Friedemann, C.P.E. Bach was successful in assimilating the powerful influence of their father and in making the transition into the new style then evolving. This represented a break with the past such as has occurred in very few other periods of musical development. The monumental character of Baroque music gave way to a mercurial Romanticism, for which the favourite contemporary description was “sensitivity” (Empfindsamkeit). Bach became a leader of that movement but retained the advantage of a solid craftsmanship and assurance for which he always gave full credit to his father's teaching and example.

      C.P.E. Bach's many compositions include religious music (e.g., a Magnificat, 22 Passions), symphonies, concerti (for flute, harpsichord, piano, harpsichord and piano, organ, oboe), organ sonatas, chamber music, and songs. The music of his Berlin period is comparatively old-fashioned, because of the preferences of his royal employer. In Hamburg he developed a more adventurous vein and did as much as anyone to open up future musical styles. Particularly influential were his symphonies, concerti, and keyboard sonatas in the evolution of classical sonata-allegro form. His influence on Joseph Haydn (Haydn, Joseph), W.A. Mozart, and even Ludwig van Beethoven (Beethoven, Ludwig van) was freely acknowledged, and it is interesting that, having influenced Haydn, Bach later allowed himself to be influenced by the younger composer, just as Haydn later influenced and was influenced by Mozart.

      As a performer, Bach was famous for the precision of his playing, for the beauty of his touch, and for the intensity of his emotion. “He grew so animated and possessed,” wrote Charles Burney (Burney, Charles) (Present State of Music in Germany…, 1773), “that he looked like one inspired. His eyes were fixed, his underlip fell, and drops of effervescence distilled from his countenance.”

      The influence of C.P.E. Bach's Essay on Keyboard Instruments was unsurpassed for two generations. Haydn called it “the school of schools.” Mozart said, “He is the father, we are the children.” Beethoven, when teaching the young Karl Czerny, wrote, “be sure of procuring Emanuel Bach's treatise.” It is, indeed, one of the essential sourcebooks for understanding the style and interpretation of 18th-century music. It is comprehensive on thorough bass, on ornaments and fingering, and is an authentic guide to many other refinements of 18th-century performance.

Additional Reading
Stephen L. Clark (ed.), C.P.E. Bach Studies (1988); Hans-Günter Ottenberg, C.P.E. Bach (1987; originally published in German, 1982); Doris Bosworth Powers, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: A Guide to Research (2002); Annette Richards (ed.), C.P.E. Bach Studies (2006).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel — (8 mar. 1714, Weimar, Sajonia Weimar–14 dic. 1788, Hamburgo). Compositor alemán. Segundo hijo de Johann Sebastian Bach, recibió una educación musical excelente de su padre. En 1740 se convirtió en clavecinista de la corte de Federico II el Grande …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Para otros usos de este término, véase Bach. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach …   Wikipedia Español

  • Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach — (8 March 1714 – 14 December 1788) was a German Classical period musician and composer, the fifth child and second (surviving) son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Maria Barbara Bach. He was a crucial composer in the transition between the Baroque and …   Wikipedia

  • Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach — en 1765 Surnom Le Bach de Hamourg Naissance …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Carl-Philipp Emanuel Bach — Naissance 8 mars 1714 Weimar, Duché de Saxe Weimar Décès 14  …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Carl-Philipp-Emanuel-Bach-Straße — is a street in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany.Named after the 18th century German musician and composer Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Straße is indeed one of the longest street names in the world, certainly Germany.Apart from… …   Wikipedia

  • Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach — Büste von C.P.E. Bach im Schauspielhaus Berlin. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (* 8. März 1714 in Weimar; † 14. Dezember 1788 in Hamburg) war ein deutscher Komponist aus der Familie Bach. Er war der berühmteste der so genannten …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach — (Weimar 1714 Hamburgo 1788) es el cuarto de los veinte hijos del célebre compositor Johann Sebastian Bach. En su música pueden ser encontrados los primeros elementos del romanticismo, presentes en el llamado empfindsamer stil, del que fue uno de… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Edition — The Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Edition was an edition of the music of C.P.E. Bach projected between 1982 and 1995. Many noted musical scholars, such as Christopher Hogwood, were participants in it, and it had the support of the National Endowment… …   Wikipedia

  • Carl-Philipp Emmanuel Bach — Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Naissance 8 mars 1714 Weimar, Duché de Saxe Weimar Décès 14  …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”