Carl Phillip Emmanuel BACH
1714 — 1788
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Solfeggietto Wq 117/2 arranged for left hand alone
Rondo in G Wq 57/2
Fantasia in C Wq 59/6
Cantabile from the Sonata in B minor Wq 55/8
Gigue Wq 117/1for one hand alone
Farewll to my Silbermann Clavichord Wq 66. Bach wrote this lyrical Rondo in 1781 when he gave his clavichord to his pupil, Dietrich Grotthuss. You will see that it makes considerable use of the expressive vibrato ('bebung') which can be produced on the clavichord by varying the pressure on a key after you have played it. The notation for this ornament is three dots with a slur over the top, placed above the note. Sadly this effect cannot be reproduced from a piano.
01 Allegro Wq 63 numbers 7 to 12, Sei Nuove Sonatine. These were published in 1787as an appendix to the third edition of Bach's treatise on keyboard playing (Versuch über die wahre Art das Clavier zu spielen).

Although described as six sonstinas, the pieces in the order of publication seem to provide two three-movement sonatas,with appropriate movements in related keys.
02 Largo
03 Allegretto
04 Allegretto
05 Andante
06 Prestissimo


Carl Philip Emannuel Bach is very widely known as the composer of just one short piano piece — the Solfeggetto at the top of the list on the left. The standard catalogue of his works has long been Alfred Wotquenne’s Thematisches Verzeichnis der Werke von Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach first published in 1905. A glance at this shows at least178 pieces listed for solo keyboard, amongst which over 100 are Sonatas. Many of these are very fine; my own favourites mainly come from among the later collections which were written for the Fortepiano rather than the Harpsichord, especially the six sets of Clavier-Sonaten für Kenner und Liebhaber (usually transtaed as "Connoisseure and Amateurs"). Each of these is a collection of 6 or more Sonatas, Rondos and Fantasias: their Wotquenne numbers are Wq55, Wq 56, Wq 57, Wq 58, Wq 59 and Wq 61. So you will see that there are many more to add to the small selection on this site so far. I hope to add a steady supply!

As well as his large scale works such as the Rondos and Fantasias Bach wrote a good number of shorter pieces, often less technically demanding but still very rewarding to play.  Examples of these are the Sei Nuove Sonatine, and the Six Sonates pour clavecin à l'usage des Dames.


For an informative, wide-ranging, and enthusiastic survey of these works I strongly recomment Philip Barford's book The keyboard music of C.P.E. Bach, (Faber and Faber, 1965).
Comments are welcome. Please write to williamww@aol.com    Last modified: 11 June 2009.