Sense and sensibility - Sonatas, Fantasias & Rondo

We now recognise Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach as the bridge between the baroque and classical periods or, in other words, between his father Johann Sebastian and Franz Joseph Haydn. Carl Philipp Emanuel, as opposed to his brothers, likewise being musicians taught by their father, always cultivated the Johann Sebastian tradition. Yet very different to his father is the character of his compositions and his aesthetic outlook: the contrapuntal treatment of themes, by now out of fashion, is put into storage; what is important for him is invention, the moulding and development of the melodies which are all graceful, aristocratic, cheeky, bouncy, incisive and conspicuous compared to the rest of the construction. Carl Philipp Emanuel wrote for the harpsichord, the clavichord and the pianoforte, which eventually would become the favourite of the three. Empfindsam (sentimental) is used to describe his style. The sophisticated structure of his works oscillates between pathos and emphasis; the sonorities suddenly dart around in flames, the harmony cannot keep still and fulminates in distant regions far from home, the rhythm battles against phrases of unequal length, against an interrupted breath, a pause or a sudden flourish of ornamentation. With Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, certain oddities of the baroque style naturally flow into the stratosphere of Sturm und Drang – the prelude of romanticism.