Music Chat: CPE Bach Trashes The Critics
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- Опубликовано: 9 фев 2025
- In this episode of "Storytime With Uncle Davey," we take a moment to savor the autobiographical sketch that CPE Bach wrote for music historian Charles Burney, and a delicious piece of work it turns out to be--as much for what it doesn't say as for what it does.
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Though, in college musicology classes, we were led to believe CPE’s music was overly florid and of little true substance, as compared to his more famous father, I must confess I’ve always liked his music, and could never understand the disdain some appear to have toward his output. I find his music tuneful (perhaps a bit more so that Johann’s), well crafted, and pretty sophisticated. I mean….what’s not to like?
It’s always hard for children of famous composers (or siblings - ask Michael Haydn) to have their music regarded entirely on its own merits.
Fascinating stuff. We could've had a similar autobiography by CPE's dad. Johann Mattheson wanted to include JS Bach in his important 1740 encyclopedia of German musicians, but Bach refused to send him any info. He didn't seem to care about fame or posterity (unlike CPE). I'm surprised he even sat for that one late period portrait we all know of him.
As someone who writes about music for a living, I assume you have a decent library of music related books. I wish you would do more videos like this. One of my favorite talks you did was on that record guide from the 1950s on how to build a collection of Classical LPs. That was illuminating about what was popular and available more than half a century ago.
What a marvelous text about C.Ph.E. Bach, every lover and admirer of CPE Bach's fascinating music must very much like the trouble you toke to read and comment on it for your listeners, I did. Thank you very much !
Thank you, Dave! Really enjoyed this. Informative and utterly interesting. 💙
Glad you enjoyed it!
I love story time with Uncle Dave! Please do more! Would love to here more from the lives and writings of great composers (and other musical sorts).
With commentary of course.
Wow. This is extremely interesting on so many levels. Furthermore, it is clear that he realized he was dictating this text for posterity. It’s full of messages for us, the future listeners. And also some jabs at his contemporaries. A whole dissertation could be written on this text.
As to merciless critics: It is proper to apply mercy and compassion to creators. But that is no excuse to overlook the deficiencies of their creations.
As to criticism in general: “Next to excellence is the appreciation of it.” W.M. Thackeray
He was a unique and impactful voice in proto-classical music-eccentric, unpredictable, wildly characterful. He never fails to entertain and delight. And if you've never availed yourself of his music, you're missing out. My first CPE was from-of all people-Pierre Boulez. Concertos on the old Vox label. It was love at first listen.
I do believe your first two sentences there applies to Uncle Davey as well! 😂
Thanks! It's a gem!
Burney himself is so interesting. Born at the apex of the flourishing Baroque era, virtually before Handel had written his first oratorio, the year before Bach wrote the St. Matthew, and living long enough to see the completion of all but one of Beethoven's symphonies.
While this is very different in number of pages than is the wonderful memoir of Berlioz (if I'm not mistaken, that is considered to be his autobiography), I'm delighted in the similarity in tone and in the two composers' interest in taking on the critical establishment of their time. I'm glad you did this one, David, and I second another commenter who wishes for more of the same. And if I may ask a potentially OT question... What's your take on CPE's importance toward the development of sonata form? I know he was a factor in it, but unsure how central was his role. I know you did a video on sonata form, but my search for it came up dry.
There's a search box on my channel home page, and all you have to do is type in "sonata form" and Voila! ruclips.net/video/wFojDQiff_Q/видео.html
Fun! Thanks. 😊
The more things change, the more they stay the same
This was fun! Two questions please: Did CPE speak English? Or was this translated (excellently!) from German by Charles Burney? Such interesting word choices and turns of phrase. Other question -- he says he was born in Vienna, which strikes me as unlikely. Wikipedia says he was born in Weimar. Is Wikipedia wrong? Thank you
And it was very well read, by the way!
I was reading from an old edition of composer's letters in the public domain, and I can't speak to provenance, unfortunately.
Weimar, of course !
10:57 There you are! Dave, you’ve long maintained that instruments try to imitate human singing, and there it is in writing….by Bach’s son, no less. If only a piano could effect vibrato. LOL.
Odd that his father so often wrote voice-like parts for instruments and made voices imitate instruments.
He was so right about Galuppi. Wonderful music that just suits the voice. Like Massenet, his vocal lines can make even a mediocre singer sound like a star.
My favorite part of this was C. P. E. Bach's reference to his father as great as a composer, and organist and a player of the "pianoforte." So much for the period-instrument crowd's insistence that it's never appropriate to play Johann Sebastian Bach's music on piano!
I think that is probably simply a function in this particular edition of the translation of "klavier," which could be any keyboard instrument.