Blog top > Article from December 2024 > Emanuel Bachʼs Sonic Trademark?!
This is a blog about this site, which introduces the lesser-known Emanuel Bach (C. P. E. Bach).
Emanuel Bachʼs Sonic Trademark?!
There is a musical motif that frequently appears in the works of Emanuel Bach. The score below is an example of this. It is the final part of Sonatina Wq. 101, and you can see that the three-note motif, highlighted in red, appears repeatedly.
This motif also frequently appears in the final movement of the keyboard sonata Wq. 62-5. While it is rare for a work to feature this motif so frequently, it appears in many of Emanuel Bachʼs compositions. It seems appropriate to call it Emanuel Bachʼs musical trademark.
Since it is a simple three-note motif, it can also appear in the works of other composers, but it does not seem to appear as frequently as it does in Emanuel Bachʼs compositions. It is believed that this motif actually served as a kind of trademark, meaning that its presence indicated it was his work. It might have been a branding strategy.