The second son of the great Johann Sebastian Bach by his first
wife, C.P.E. Bach was recognised as one of the greatest harpsichordists
of his time. After study at university, a privilege denied his
father, he became harpsichordist to the Crown Prince of Prussia,
later Frederick the Great, and left his service in 1767, after
the death of his godfather Telemann, whom he succeeded as director
of music of the five city churches of Hamburg. He was greatly
respected both as a composer and as a friend of some of the most
distinguished writers and thinkers of his time. In 1755 he published
his influential Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments.
From his very considerable output his sonatas for flute and harpsichord
remain an attractive part of chamber music repertoire, with the
symphonies written for Baron van Swieten, arbiter elegantium in
Vienna, a man whose taste was generally trusted in artistic matters.
Music by C.P.E. Bach is often listed with a reference number from
the catalogue of his works by Wotquenne (Wq).
C.P.E. Bach wrote a set of six String Symphonies, Wq. 182, for Baron van Swieten, Court Librarian and associate of Haydn and Mozart. Four Flute Concertos, Wq. 166 - 169, are arranged from the composer's own harpsichord concertos, of which the set of six, listed as Wq. 43, are an excellent example.
The varied chamber music of C.P.E. Bach includes a set of Sonatas for flute & harpsichord, Wq. 83 - 87, five Trio Sonatas for flute, violin and basso continuo, Wq. 143 - 147, and an unusual Sonata for solo flute, Wq. 132.
Keyboard Music
C.P.E. Bach wrote a great deal of music for the instruments on which he was acknowledged to be pre-eminent as a performer, the harpsichord and the gentler clavichord. These include Six Sonatas, Wq. 49, and 12 Variations on the best known of contemporary themes for variations, La Folia, Wq. 118/9.
