Great Music - La Folia 5

Sorry to my loyal readers for having missed a day yesterday.  But this is a new week, so we’ll start it out right by resuming the journey through the ages with the Spanish dance tune, La Folia.  Today’s Folia comes from perhaps the best known son of Johann Sebastian Bach, Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or as he’s known in musical history, C.P.E. Bach.)

C.P.E., the child of J.S. Bach and his first wife, was born in 1714 (his godfather was the famous musician and composer, Georg Philip Telemann.)  He was one of four of the elder Bach’s numerous children to become a professional musician.  All of his formal training he received from his father.  In order to gain more prestige (musicians at that time, were treated like servants, for which the most part they were), C.P.E. also pursued a law degree in Leipzig and Frankfurt.  He received a degree in 1738, and turned immediately to music.  There is no indication that he ever used his law degree. 

 

After graduation, C.P.E., one of the best keyboardists in Europe, and backed by the formidable reputation of his father, secured a place in the court of the Crown Prince Frederick of Prussia (who ascended to the throne two years later and has come down to us in history as Frederick the Great.)  C.P.E.’s reputation continued to grow as he produced work after work during his thirty years at court.  He also wrote on musical subjects, and during these years produced Versuch über die wahre Art das Clavier zu spielen (An Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments), which for decades was the standard text for all keyboard players.

In 1768, C.P.E. succeeded his godfather, Telemann, as music director for the City of Hamburg.  In the next twenty years, music flowed from his pen, producing keyboard and orchestral works, religious music (including 21 settings of the Passion of Christ), and court music.  His reputation was supreme throughout Europe.  Mozart called hailed him as “the father, we are the children.”  Haydn and Beethoven also acknowledged C.P.E.’s genius; and after his death, he was studied by Carl Maria von Weber, Felix Mendelssohn and Johannes Brahms.  C.P.E. died in Hamburg in 1788.

Given his great historical reputation as a keyboardist, it is no surprise that C.P.E.’s contribution to the La Folia legacy comes in the form of keyboard variations.  Here, they are played on the harpsichord.  Enjoy!