Emanuel Bach and Michael Haydn

Abstract

Neither of the composers featured in this review is the most obvious bearer of his distinguished family name. The second son and the younger brother are the identities commonly used to describe them, the latter overshadowed by his brother's superior genius, the former regarded as an extraordinarily many-sided musician (in virtually every genre other than opera), profoundly influential theorist, and brilliant player of, and prolific composer for, the standard keyboard instruments. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach has always struck me as the strangest of his father's sons, a man whose life and music are consistently fascinating, yet bewilderingly inconsistent in style, form and even quality. Four CDs, of course, cannot begin to give even an outline of an œuvre of such range and quantity, but the recordings under consideration at least convey an idea of the richness of his achievements. The disc entitled Hamburgische Festmusiken (cpo 777 108-2, rec 2004, 73′) presents two cantatas for the installation of pastors and, surrounding them, three independent choruses. The earliest of these pieces, the chorus Mein Heiland, meine Zuversicht, h830, dates from 1771, three years after he left the employment of Frederick the Great and threw in his lot with the city fathers of Hamburg, as his father had thought of doing nearly half a century earlier. The latest of the works recorded here is the cantata for the installation of Johann Jacob Schäffer as deacon of St Nicholas's Church in 1785, three years before Bach's death. The cantatas consist of the usual mixture of chorus, recitative and aria, and chorale, and the scoring variously includes three trumpets, pairs of horns, oboes (flutes), timpani, organ and strings. Les Amis de Philippe is an excellent, stylish little band, and the eight singers who make up Himmlische Cantorey are a fine team, though in their solos some of them show limited virtuosity. Once or twice I sensed that Ludger Rémy, the director, was holding back the musical impetus, particularly in recitatives, in order to emphasize textual details; and the chorales would have benefited from a touch of John Eliot Gardiner's eager and spirited insight. There are long, scholarly notes by the many-talented Rémy; their English translation is, unfortunately, unidiomatic and inaccurate. Balance tends to favour the voices over the instruments, but that at least means that the texts (printed in full, with translations) come over quite clearly. Playing this disc straight through is not recommended; better to experience each of the cantatas separately, thus avoiding any feeling of sameness. That said, the final piece, the chorus Amen! Lob und Preis und Stärke, h834, another late work, brings the disc to a rousing conclusion. Not the least attractive feature of this issue is that none of the works is currently available in a recording; Emanuel's vocal œuvre is indeed thinly represented in the CD catalogue.