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<H2><A title="The 300th Birthday of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach"
style='href: "http://blogs.jwpepper.com/?p=5233"'><FONT
face="Times New Roman">The 300th Birthday of Carl Philipp Emanuel
Bach</FONT></A></H2>
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<P class=date><FONT face="Times New Roman">Posted By </FONT><A
title="Posts by Marnie Kraft"
style='href: "http://blogs.jwpepper.com/?author=39"' rel=author><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Marnie Kraft</FONT></A><FONT face="Times New Roman"> on
February 26, 2014 </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </P>
<P><A
style='href: "http://www.jwpepper.com/sheet-music/search.jsp?weblist=cpebachanniversaryblogweblist"'
target=_blank><IMG title="C.P.E. Bach" class="alignleft size-full"
alt="C.P.E. Bach" src="http://www.jwpepper.com/images/c.p.e.bach.jpg" width=149
height=203></A><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </P>
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<P><FONT size=5 face="Times New Roman">The year 2014 could prove to be
significant for the legacy of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. The second
surviving son of the great Johann Sebastian Bach was born on March 8, 1714, and
a flurry of events worldwide will commemorate the 300th anniversary of his
birth. Six cities in Germany will hold celebrations this year, with the
most extensive in Hamburg, where C.P.E. Bach spent the last twenty years of his
life.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=5 face="Times New Roman">To appreciate the influence that C.P.E
Bach had on his contemporaries and later composers, it is helpful to examine his
life. Emanuel Bach was trained thoroughly in music by his father, but both
parent and son realized that a university education was necessary in order to
obtain a high-ranking court position. Once Emanuel had his law degree, he
was free to pursue composition as part of his duties as court cembalist in the
orchestra of Friedrich II (later Frederick the Great) in Berlin. This
position allowed him time to compose numerous works, many for the clavier (a
predecessor of the piano).</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=5 face="Times New Roman">One of C.P.E. Bach’s lasting gifts to the
music world was his treatise on playing keyboard instruments. It is
difficult for us to imagine now, but at that time, the thumbs were not used in
keyboard playing. Emanuel encouraged use of the thumbs and argued for
their necessity in order to create effortless technique.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=5 face="Times New Roman">In his mature years, Emanuel became more
interested in writing choral music, most likely because he succeeded Georg
Philipp Telemann (his godfather and partial namesake) as director of music in
Hamburg in 1768. The increased workload called for music to fill 200
concerts per year, so he created many new works and settings, most using
existing materials. Along with being a prolific composer, Emanuel was also
a shrewd businessman and exerted careful control over the publishing of his
keyboard and choral works. He died in Hamburg in 1788 at the age of
74.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=5 face="Times New Roman">C.P.E. Bach, like his music, was full of
complexity, passion, intellect, and subtle wit. Many later composers, such
as Beethoven, lauded his skills. Is it possible that many concertgoers did
not appreciate this special music that was ahead of its time? If so,
modern audiences will enjoy renewed opportunities this year to reflect on the
impressive quality of C.P.E. Bach’s collective works.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=5 face="Times New Roman">Yes, he had an amazingly brilliant
father, but Emanuel’s reputation still stands firmly on its own 300 years after
his birth.</FONT></P></DIV></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>