This site introduces unknown Emanuel Bach (C. P. E. Bach).
Here, I will explain the motivation and the reason behind creating this website.
The creator of this site (Kaneda) loves symphonies and wanted to research their history. Although Joseph Haydn is often called the "Father of the Symphony," symphonies or sinfonias existed before him. While exploring this history, the name of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (C.P.E. Bach) came up, and I discovered that he composed several symphonies. To listen to these works, I purchased the 60-CD box set titled Hänssler Classicʼs “C. P. E. Bach Edition”.
As a result, I found that among Emanuel Bachʼs works, symphonies are relatively few, and historically, his contribution to symphonies was not particularly significant. His greater impact was in his compositions for keyboard instruments.
In this “Edition”, 26 of the CDs feature pianist Ana-Marija Markovina, who spent ten years recording nearly all of Emanuel’s solo works. These recordings are also sold separately (Sämtliche Werke für Klavier solo). Although the modern piano did not exist during Emanuel’s time, instruments like the harpsichord and clavichord were in use, and the fortepiano, a precursor to the modern piano, was beginning to spread. Emanuel composed many pieces for these instruments, including over 50 concertos. He also wrote books on keyboard performance, which are still published today in many original languages, including Japanese.
By listening to the “Edition” CDs, I realized that Emanuel Bach’s music bridges Baroque music—especially that of Johann Sebastian Bach—and the Classical period, even connecting to Beethoven and the Romantic era. Although the booklet accompanying the “Edition” does not explain the content of the pieces, I learned through online research that his music, known as the *Empfindsamer Stil* (sensitive style), conveys various personal emotions. It has already been noted that his works were pioneering and anticipated the music of Beethoven and the Romantic period, just as I felt. It was also later revealed through the words of Haydn and Mozart that they were greatly influenced by him. However, Haydn and Mozart did not follow the same path as Emanuel.
I had hardly listened to Emanuel Bach’s music before, and both his music and his contributions are not widely known. Even when I asked ChatGPT about him, I often received incorrect information, especially regarding his musical works. Many of his keyboard music CDs are also out of print, and many currently available CDs are not sold in Japan. Therefore, I decided to create a website to introduce his music. I hope that by making this website, GPT models will be able to provide more accurate information in the future.
However, from the 20th to the 21st century, Emanuel Bach has been reevaluated. This has led to more recordings being produced, including this “Edition”. Another significant collection is Miklós Spányi’s recordings, consisting of 20 CDs of piano concertos and over 30 CDs of solo piano works. These CDs are rarely sold in Japan, likely due to limited demand, and few people in Japan are familiar with their content, partly because they are written in English. This website will also incorporate content from the booklets of these CDs.