Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and his Hamburg Symphonies Wq 182
The eighteenth century was a time when the existing image of European musical culture changed. Music itself also changed. Gradually, the previous formula of the old Baroque style was being exhausted and at the same time new trends were emerging These mainly concerned the search for different possibilities of expression in music. Johann Sebastian Bach and his second son Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788) perfectly represent this stylistic diversity of the 18th century. The father was a master of synthesis, one of the last composers to defend the Baroque order, but his music also features signs of new directions. He incorporated characteristics of many styles into German music and drew on the models of Italian and French music, which is perfectly reflected in his life project – Clavierübung. The son was thus able to draw from this treasury, adding what was born in his extremely creatively restless mind.
His legacy is a reflection of stylistic diversity and new aesthetic attitudes. Their most important attribute was the focus on individually understood beauty and emotions in music. This vision of music led to stylistic changes and the development of distinct compositional tools, which were realised in Galant, Rococo, Empfindsamer Stil as well as mature Classicism. The second half of the 18th century and thus also the work of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach represents one of the most interesting phenomena in the history of music.
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach was born on 8 March 1714 in Weimar, where his father was then concertmaster and organist at the ducal court. His godfather was George Philipp Telemann. His childhood was tragically scarred by the sudden death of his mother Maria Barbara in 1720. In 1723, Johann Sebastian with his second wife Anna Magdalena and children arrived in Leipzig, where he took up the position of cantor. This move was fundamental to the education of young Carl Philipp Emanuel, who was admitted to the St Thomas School immediately upon his arrival in Leipzig, at the age of nine. In 1731, he began studying law in Leipzig and, starting from 1734, he continued the studies in Frankfurt (Oder), where he also worked as a harpsichordist, harpsichord teacher and conductor. His first compositions were also written during this time, however he probably destroyed many of them. He also worked as a copyist of his father's works, which certainly had a great influence on the development of his compositional skills.
In 1738, Carl Philipp Emanuel was given a position as harpsichordist in the Ruppin orchestra of Frederick, Prince of Prussia. After Frederick's accession to the throne in 1741, he was given a permanent position as harpsichordist in the royal orchestra. He also taught keyboard instruments to, among others, Charles Eugene, Duke of Württemberg. While Carl Philipp Emanuel's fame as a composer grew, his relations with the king deteriorated. The composer was dissatisfied with his position at the Berlin court. During this time, however, Carl Philipp Emanuel took care of his private happiness. In 1744, he married the daughter of a Berlin wine merchant, Johanna Maria Dannemann, with whom he had three children. During his service to the King of Prussia, Carl Philipp Emanuel became involved with the musical circle of the Prussian Princess Anna Amalia and her teacher, the renowned composer Johann Philipp Kirnberger. He also attended literary salons, where he met leading writers, playwrights and aesthetes.
His time in Berlin also resulted in the writing and publication of two parts of the treatise Versuch über die wahre Art das Clavier zu spielen (1753, 1762), which became the main handbook for learning keyboard and basso continuo in his time. It was used by successive generations of musicians until at least the mid-19th century. In addition to the technical aspects, the treatise also reflected the aesthetics of the time, known as the aesthetics of heightened emotionality (Empfindsamkeit). Today, the handbook is a fundamental source of knowledge on 18th-century performance thought and practice.
On 6 November 1767, Carl Philipp Emanuel was officially appointed director of music and cantor of the Johanneum in Hamburg, thus replacing his godfather Telemann, who had probably recommended his godson as his successor before his death. Other worthy competitors also vied for the vacant post; they were well-known musicians of the time – his brother Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, Hermann Friedrich Raupach and Johann Heinrich Rolle. Carl Philipp Emanuel, at the age of 54, being Europe's most esteemed performer of pieces for keyboard instruments, a respected composer and pedagogue, found his new home in Hamburg. It was a city open "to the world" in every respect and offered him unlimited opportunities for growth. He felt very comfortable here and enjoyed great prestige and recognition. Just as in Berlin, he connected with many artists and poets. His contacts with Baron Gottfried van Swieten, the Austrian ambassador in Berlin, were also important to him. Van Swieten specially came to Hamburg to meet the composer, who in 1773 wrote six symphonies (6 Sinfonien Wq 182, H 657-62) commissioned by him.
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach died at the age of 74 on 14 December 1788 in Hamburg and was buried in St Michael's Church in Hamburg. The obituaries that appeared in the press after his death spoke of him with great appreciation. His fame at the time far surpassed the renown of his father. He greatly influenced the next generation of composers, including Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven.
His compositional style underwent changes as significant as the changes associated with the transition from the "old" Baroque style to the Classical style. During his composing career spanning almost 60 years, he wrote more than 1,000 separate works, ranging from songs to oratorios, from dance forms, fantasias and sonatas to orchestral symphonies and concertos. His oeuvre marks that important transition in the history of European music that took place in the 18th century, particularly in its second half.
Carl Philipp Emanuel gave his compositions his own distinctive style. Already in his harpsichord sonatas and concertos dating from the 1840s, we find direct foreshadowing of his extraordinary solo works of the Hamburg period. Among the most important achievements of the Berlin period are his perfection and constant refinement of the expressive language. Even then, we can already observe such solutions as the placement of sudden pauses, the use of surprising harmonic successions, melodic embellishments or the continuous transformation of a particular motif and extremely abrupt dynamic transitions. The basis for these experimental choices was always the solid structural basis of the pieces. The clarity of the formal structure allowed for freedom in other aspects that made up the overall work. At the beginning of his creative path, the composer tried to simplify the components of the work, as a result of the postulates of the most fashionable style at the time – Galant. However, it was the affections, emotions and deep expression, as well as virtuosic brilliance, that became the most characteristic features of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's music, which built up in his works until reaching their peak form in the works of the Hamburg period. The range of affections contained in his pieces made him the exponent of Empfindsamer Stil – a style of heightened emotionality. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach wanted to deeply move the listener with his music.
Carl Philipp Emanuel left a lasting, innovative trace of his composition style also in orchestral music. Of his symphonic works, 18 pieces have survived, which were written over a period of 35 years. There are 8 compositions from the Berlin period (Wq 173-181, H 648-656, one of the symphonies has two versions). All of them consist of three movements with a fast-slow-fast arrangement and are scored for string orchestra. The wind instrument parts were not added by the composer until the Hamburg period. Stylistically, they are primarily influenced by the Dresden school with a strong Italian style orientation. The six Hamburg symphonies Wq 182, H 657-662 (1773) for string orchestra and basso continuo were commissioned by Baron Gottfried van Swieten. The composer was guaranteed complete creative freedom. Thus daring works were created. In these, Bach abandoned the expressive restraint still present in the Berlin symphonies. The Hamburg symphonies retain the formal structure of three-movement cycles with agogically contrasted succession of elements, but they assault the listener with heightened expression, impulsivity, and sometimes even eccentricity. At times it is "subversive" music that speaks in extreme contrasts. Every motif, every musical gesture is immediately subverted as soon as it appears. They reflect the two most important trends of that era: Empfindsamer Stil – a sensibility that demanded that music should touch the heart, and Sturm und Drang – the elevation of eccentricity and mood extremes to the rank of a central idea. This music fully expresses the creative individuality of Carl Philipp Emanuel. It is noteworthy that their publication coincides with the creation of Johann Wolfgang Goethe's novel The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774), which was groundbreaking for the literature and attitude towards life of the Sturm und Drang generation. The Hamburg Symphonies were published in print and repeatedly reprinted, as well as performed in concert halls in the 19th and early 20th centuries. They are, therefore, the only symphonies by a composer of Bach's generation to have a continuous performance tradition that has lasted from his era to the present day.
The last symphony cycle was published in 1780 with a dedication to Crown Prince Frederick William. These are four symphonies, also in three movements, scored for twelve obligatory instruments and thus a full cast with wind instruments (Wq 183, H 663-666). They represent a similar style to the Hamburg works and, in addition, exhibit richer and more advanced orchestral texture. The basso continuo part is actually already marginal. This shows how well-versed the composer was in the new trends of the 1770s.
The music of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, especially from the Hamburg period, fascinates with its variability of moods, captivating melodic ideas, compelling contrasts, surprising exchanges in voices, eccentric harmonies or extreme dynamic transitions. In the historically oriented performance practice followed by Arte dei Suonatori orchestra Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s compositions have regained their original intent of the times of heightened emotionality (Empfindsamer Stil) and the era of Sturm und Drang. They inspire awe and move hearts.
Alina Mądry
