Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
JS Bach's Second Son, German Composer and Performer
Brief biography of CPE Bach, master of the keyboards, arguably, founder of modern piano-playing, and famous for "treatise on how to play the keyboard correctly."
Known as CPE Bach, and a left-handed, he was the second son of Johann Sebastian Bach by his first wife. He studied music under his father, JS Bach. CPE Bach introduced a new ‘homophonic’ style that influenced the future master composers Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven.
Early Life
CPE Bach, the best-known member of the Bach family in his time. He was born on March 8, 1714 in Weimar, the second surviving son of Johann Sebastian Bach by his first wife. Baroque composer Georg Philipp Telemann was one of his godparents. CPE was educated at Leipzig, then at the Univeristy of Frankfurt-on-Oder.
Early Career and Works
In 1738 he moved to Berlin to become harpsichordist to the Prussian crown prince when his employer became King Frederick in 1740. During this period, his most important compositions were his keyboard sonatas.
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach wrote and published his famous treatise on keyboard playing entitled Versuch über die wahre Art das Clavier zu spielen (Essay on the Correct Method of Playing the Clavier), 1753, which established him as the leading keyboard teacher and theorist that time. He may well be regarded as the founder of modern piano-playing. He was however discontented with his poor salary and wanted out. It was only in 1767 when Frederick reluctantly released him. The following year, he succeeded his godfather Georg Telemann as Kantor and church music director at Hamburg.
Prolific Composer
CPE Bach He wrote over 200 pieces for keyboard instruments, numerous chamber music including solo clavier pieces, many songs, fiery and energetic symphonies and concerti with orchestral accompaniments, cantatas, as well as choral works from his late years, including two oratorios. Some of these church music included adaptations of his own and works of other composers.
Recognition and Legacy
Together with his music, Carl Philipp Emanuel (CPE) Bach was greatly respected and recognized for his treatise which summarized the musical philosophy and practices in the second half of the 18th-century Protestant north Germany. He received much greater recognition for his abilities as composer and performer in his lifetime than his now famous father, JS Bach. He died aged 74, in Hamburg.
CPE Bach's Major Works:
- Trio in B minor 1731
- Prussian Sonata 1742
- Sonata for clavier, Wurtemburgian 1743
- Magnificat 1749
- Harp Sonata in B minor 1762
- Passion Cantata 1770
- Fantasia in C minor 1773
- Die Israeliten in der Wüste (The Israelites in the Wilderness), oratorio 1769
- Symphony in F major 1780
- Morgengesang am Schöpfungsfeste, ode (1783)
- Die Auferstehung und Himmelfahrt Jesu (The Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus), oratorio 1787
- Concerto in E-Flat 1788
Primary Source Consulted
The Grove Dictionary of Music, Edited by Stanley Sadie, Macmillan (1994)
