19june

Sund

ay

5 PM

Deborah Boldin, Artistic Director & flute

Sooyun Kim, flute

Nancy Dimock, oboe

Robyn Bollinger, Eunae Koh, Sean Lee, violin

the program

35TH SEASON | ROCKPORT MUSIC :: 45

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BACH AND SONS

SINFONIA IN D MINOR, F. 65, FOR TWO FLUTES, STRINGS, AND CONTINUOWilhelm Friedemann Bach (1710-1784)

Adagio—Fuge: Allegro e forte

Kim, Boldin, Koh, Lee, Woolweaver, Popper-Keizer, Higgins, Schepkin

QUINTET IN F MAJOR FOR OBOE, VIOLIN, VIOLA, CELLO, AND KEYBOARD, OP. 22 NO. 2Johann Christian Bach (1735-1782)

Allegro con motoTempo di Menuetto

Dimock, Bollinger, Woolweaver, Popper-Keizer, Schepkin

BRANDENBURG CONCERTO NO. 5 IN D MAJOR, BWV 1050Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

AllegroAffetuosoAllegro

Schepkin, Boldin, BollingerKoh, Woolweaver, Popper-Keizer, Higgins

:: intermission ::

TRIO SONATA IN C MINOR FOR TWO VIOLINS AND CONTINUO,H.579/WQ 161, “SAUGUINEUS AND MELANCHOLICUS”Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788)

Lee, Bollinger, Popper-Keizer, Schepkin

chameleon arts ensembleScott Woolweaver, viola

Rafael Popper-Keizer, cello

Erik Higgins, double bass

Sergey Schepkin, harpsichord

The program continues on the next page

SINFONIA IN D MINOR, F. 65, “ADAGIO AND FUGUE” FOR FLUTES, STRINGS AND CONTINUOWilhelm Friedemann Bach (b. Weimar, Germany, November 22, 1710; d. Berlin, July 1, 1784)Composed 1740-45 (ca.); 9 minutes

Wilhelm Friedemann Bach was the second child, and eldest son, of Johann Sebastian Bachand his first wife, Maria Barbara Bach (1684-1720), who bore seven children before herearly death. His fields of study—music performance, composition, philosophy, law, andmathematics—indicate the wide range of his curiosity and intellect. His education in musicbegan with his father, and by the age of ten, Wilhelm Friedemann had begun assembling his own “Little Keyboard Book.”

Wilhelm Friedemann’s professional posts included terms as organist and music director at the Sophienkirche in Dresden and the Church of Our Lady, in Halle (modern referencessometimes name him “the Halle Bach”), where he also taught and served as director of thecity chorus. During his Dresden years (1733-1746), his official duties were sufficientlyproscribed (not to mention poorly compensated) that he had time to devote to composition.

The music practices in the Dresden church called for instrumental ensembles to performthe Gradual of the Mass, music that Wilhelm Friedemann composed for the occasions. The Sinfonia in D minor was among those works.

The Sinfonia in D minor, composed according to well-defined rules appropriate forperformance in a formal church setting, comprises two sections. The first part, Adagio,serves as a prelude. The serious and stately voices of strings and keyboard support andcomplement the embellishing voices of the two flutes. The second part, Allegro e forte,emerges as a lively fugue, whose subject was predicted in the Adagio section.

QUINTET IN F MAJOR FOR OBOE, VIOLIN, VIOLA, CELLO AND KEYBOARD, OP.22, NO. 2Johann Christian Bach (b. Leipzig, Germany, September 5, 1735; d. London, January 1, 1782)Composed ca. 1780; 12 minutes

Seventeen months after the sudden and unexpected death of his first wife, Maria Barbara, J. S. Bach married Anna Magdalena, with whom he had thirteen children. Born twenty-fiveyears after his older half-brother, Wilhelm Friedemann, Johann Christian Bach was hisfather’s youngest and, some scholars believe, his favorite son. Like Wilhelm Friedemann,Johann Christian received his earliest training in music from his father, Johann Sebastian.

Notes on the

programby

Sandra Hyslop

46 :: NOTES ON THE PROGRAM

BRANDENBURG CONCERTO NO. 4 IN G MAJOR, BWV 1049Johann Sebastian BachAllegroAndantePresto

Lee, Boldin, Kim Koh, Bollinger, Woolweaver, Popper-Keizer, Higgins, Schepkin

The over-lifesized monument to J.S. Bach stands in the place of honor before theThomaskirche in Leipzig,where he served as cantorfrom 1723 until his death in 1750.

However, J. C. Bach was born into a musical environment that had changed significantlysince Wilhelm Friedemann’s youth.

Johann Christian developed as a true exponent of musical styles and interests that lookedforward to the sensibilities of the Classical era. His music made a real impact on Mozart,who openly expressed his admiration. Johann Christian lived for many years in Berlin and inItaly, and moved in 1762 to London (he is sometimes called “the London Bach”), where hemarried, and enjoyed the public’s acclaim for his music. Fame is fleeting, as he discoveredlate in his life. Twenty years later, he died in poverty in his beloved city.

The Quintet in F major was composed in 1780 and was published in 1785, the second in a setof “Deux quintetts.” Because J. C. Bach was a prominent entrepreneur of public concerts,scholars assume that these light-hearted instrumental works were composed for suchoccasions. The fact that they were published posthumously, despite Johann Christian’sfading reputation, indicates that the market for such entertainment was still strong.

BRANDENBURG CONCERTO NO. 5 IN D MAJOR, BWV 1050Johann Sebastian Bach (b. Eisenach, Germany, March 21, 1685; d. Leipzig, July 28, 1750)Composed before 1721; 23 minutes

On March 24, 1721, Johann Sebastian Bach wrote, in French, an ingratiating cover letter-cum-dedication to accompany a precious stack of manuscripts that he was submitting tothe Margrave Christian Ludwig, of Brandenburg, near Berlin. Writing from Cöthen, Bach addressed Christian Ludwig:

As I had the good fortune a few years ago to be heard by Your Royal Highness…and as I noted then that Your Highness took some pleasure in the little talents whichHeaven has given me for Music, and as in taking leave of Your Royal Highness, YourHighness designed to honor me with the command to send Your Highness somepieces of my Composition, I have in accordance with Your Highness’s most graciousorders taken the liberty of rendering my most humble duty to Your Royal Highnesswith the present Concertos, which I have adapted to several instruments…

Bach had played before the Margrave sometime in the winter of 1718-19, and upon that thinthread of introduction he was now submitting one of the most treasured calling cards inmusic history. Unfortunately, whatever hopes Bach might have had for His Highness’sattentions fell upon barren ground. Offering Bach acknowledgement of neither his letternor of the manuscripts, His Highness packed away the bundle of manuscripts, where theylay for more than a century before being discovered, played, and published. The so-calledBrandenburg Concertos have brought the otherwise forgotten Margrave great fame-by-association with Bach, as the brilliance of the concertos for “several instruments” has cometo epitomize the apex of early eighteenth-century instrumental writing.

Bach inscribed the title on No. 5 of the concertos: “Concerto the Fifth, for a transverse flute,solo violin, violin and viola ‘in ripieno’ [meaning, as accompanying instruments], cello, violone[a lower-voiced string instrument, such as a viola or cello], and cembalo [harpsichord].” Inthis case, the harpsichord serves a dual function, sometimes as the continuo support forthe others, and more prominently as a solo instrument. No. 5 is particularly known for thebrilliance of the harpsichord writing, which no doubt reflected Bach’s own virtuosic talentsat the keyboard.

35TH SEASON | ROCKPORT MUSIC :: 47

Portrait of Johann ChristianBach (sometimes called “theLondon Bach”), by ThomasGainsborough

Detail of the ingratiatingdedication that JohannSebastian Bach wrote whenhe sent the six instrumentalconcertos to MargraveChristian Ludwig of Brandenburg in 1721

TRIO SONATA IN C MINOR FOR 2 VIOLINS AND CONTINUO, H.579, WQ.161“SANGUINEUS AND MELANCHOLICUS”Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (b. Weimar, Germany, March 8, 1714; d. Hamburg, December 14, 1788)Composed 1749; 16 minutes

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, the fifth child of Johann Sebastian and his first wife, Maria Barbara, was the younger brother (by four years) of Wilhelm Friedemann, and the olderhalf-brother (by twenty-one years) of Johann Christian Bach. He studied law, and then, concentrating on music, he became renowned as a brilliant harpsichordist. Like his youngerhalf-brother Johann Christian, Carl Philipp Emanuel enjoyed the attention of Mozart, whoadmired not only his compositions, but also his published treatise on keyboard technique.

Carl Philipp Emanuel’s works list comprises nearly one thousand compositions, of which asignificant number were trio sonatas. The term “Trio Sonata” refers to the number of obbligatoinstruments, not to the number of participants in the ensemble. Typically, the “obbligato”ensemble would comprise two treble instruments (violin or flute, for example) and a bass(viola da gamba or cello), accompanied by the “continuo,” instruments that would fill in theharmonic materials and provide rhythmic impulse. The continuo part could be played by aharpsichord alone, or it might comprise an ensemble of a keyboard instrument, plus a cello,viola da gamba, and bassoon or double bass. Frequently, the parts for the “obbligato” ensemblewere written out, while the music for the “continuo” instrument(s) would be quasi-improvised.

C. P. E. Bach based this C-minor Trio Sonata on an imitative, programmatic idea, an unusualmusical concept for his time. In the eighteenth century, four personality types were commonlyrecognized: the sanguine (sociable and optimistic), the melancholic (quiet and introverted),the phlegmatic (calm and patient), and the choleric (extroverted and impatient). Choosing twoof them, sanguinity and melancholy, C.P.E. composed a Trio Sonata that, upon its publicationin 1751, found enormous public favor for his vivid musical portraits.

BRANDENBURG CONCERTO NO. 4 IN G MAJOR, BWV 1049Johann Sebastian BachComposed before 1721; 16 minutes

The diversity of instruments for which Johann Sebastian Bach wrote in the six concertosprovides a clue to the instrumental resources he had available in the court of Cöthen, wherehe was Kapellmeister and where, it is widely believed, he composed most of the music of the“Brandenburg” concertos. Judging from the musical and technical requirements of the sixpieces, Bach’s orchestra players in Cöthen possessed excellent professional skills.

Bach’s inscription at the head of the Concerto No. 4 designates a solo violin, two “Flauti d’Echo” [usually interpreted as “recorders,” but also appropriate for modern flutes], two violins, a viola and a violone [a lower-voiced stringed instrument, such as a cello or bass], a cello and continuo [harpsichord]. Where the Fifth Brandenburg is a showpiece for the harpsichord, the Fourth features the solo violin in a virtuosic display, especially in the outermovements. Bach himself was reportedly a fine violinist. It is not clear whether the sixinstrumental concertos were performed in Cöthen before Bach sent the manuscripts toMargrave Christian Ludwig (see the note above, for the Concerto No. 5). However, the leader of Bach’s orchestra there, the violinist Joseph Spiess, had the skills to perform the virtuosic No. 4 with the requisite skill and flair.

Notes on the

programby

Sandra Hyslop

48 :: NOTES ON THE PROGRAM

From 1738 to 1767 CarlPhilipp Emanuel Bach wasthe cembalist (the principalkeyboard player) at thecourt of Frederick theGreat. Frederick, an accomplished flutist, and his harpsichord virtuosocourtier C. P. E. Bach oftenplayed together at theSanssouci summer palace in Potsdam, near Berlin.The well-known portrait by Adolph von Menzel hasbecome an iconic image ofC.P.E. Bach’s era, eventhough it was painted in theromanticized style of 1852,one hundred years afterthe fact.

TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 7 PM

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