Composer: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, Johann Sebastian Bach
Performer: Benjamin Appl, Christoph Hartmann
Orchestra: Berliner Barock Solisten
Conductor: Reinhard Goebel
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Hänssler
Catalogue: HC19081
Release: 2020
Size: 1.44 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Ich bin vergnügt mit meinem Stande, Wq. deest
01. No. 1, Ich bin vergnügt mit meinem Stande
02. No. 2, Im Schweiße meines Angesichts
03. No. 3, Lieber Gott, es ist das Deine
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Symphony in F Major, Wq. deest
04. I. Allegro
05. II. Adagio
06. III. Allegro assai
Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach: Pygmalion, Wf XVIII:5
07. No. 1, Abgöttin meiner Seele!
08. No. 2, Ihr Götter welche Phantaseyn!
09. No. 3, Nicht taub, nicht fühllos, nein
10. No. 4, Ach, dass mein irdisch Ohr nicht fähig ist
11. No. 5, Ach, es muss ein Teil der Gottheit
12. No. 6, O Venus! Saturnia! Bracht ich nur dir
13. No. 7, O Himmel! Der Boden wankt
14. No. 8, Nun senkt sie Haupt und Hand herab
15. No. 9, Bald sollen diese Lippen mich
16. No. 10, Ja, diese leichte Mühe, dies selige Geschäft
17. No. 11, Allgütige! Wofern dich hier noch
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach: Symphony in B-Flat Major, F 71
18. I. Allegro
19. II. Andante
20. III. Presto
Johann Sebastian Bach: Ich habe genug, BWV 82 (1747 Version)
21. No. 1, Ich habe genug
22. No. 2, Ich habe genug
23. No. 3, Schlummert ein, ihr matten Augen
24. No. 4, Mein Gott! Wann kömmt das schöne
25. No. 5, Ich freue mich auf meinen Tod
Solo cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach and his sons. An extraordinary talented family left its footprints in the musical history of Europe. Appl started in music as a young chorister at the renowned Regensburger Domspatzen, later continuing his studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München and eventually at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London. He had the good fortune of being mentored by the legendary singer Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. The Berlin Baroque Soloists ensemble was founded in 1995 by members of the Berlin Philharmonic, alongside early music specialists. Their aim was to present high-level performances of early music on modern instruments. Reinhard Goebel specialises in the repertoire of the 17th and 18th centuries. As an ex- pounder of period performance practice for both early music ensembles and modern or- chestras, and as an endless fount of knowledge about gems of the repertoire, he is a worldrenowned specialist. ӛ n May 2018 he was named artistic director of the Berliner Barock Solisten.
Albums pairing music by Johann Sebastian Bach with that of his sons come along every so often, but one like this, examining a single genre, is not so common despite its obvious potential. The execution is not flawless, but the music on this album is rare, interesting, and well performed. Listeners actually get only two cantatas by the Bach sons, and the program closes with the 1747 version of the Cantata No. 82, “Ich habe genug,” BWV 82, beautifully sung by Benjamin Appl but doesn’t add much to the program. There are also a pair of symphonies by (probably) Carl Philipp Emanuel and Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, the latter more experimental in its wild voice-leading than the usually unorthodox C.P.E. The two actual cantatas by Bach’s sons are quite intriguing. Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach’s Pygmalion is a secular work for bass and ensemble, a semi-dramatic piece with lots of recitative. The intriguing thing is that Johann Christoph Friedrich seems to do anything to avoid following his father’s example: there is a bit of Vivaldi here, Handel there, as well as more modern influences like Gluck. The opening sacred cantata, C.P.E. Bach’s Ich bin vergnügt mit meinem Stande, Wq deest (the work gets its world premiere here, and no doubts are raised about its authorship), is again closer to J.S. Bach’s example. There’s plenty more to hear, and Reinhard Goebel, leading the Berliner Barock Solisten, expands upon the finer points in his notes. This may be of most interest to devotees of the Bachs, but it’s listenable for anyone.