Symphonies

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C. P. E. BACH
Symphonies
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Rebecca Miller

[ Signum Classics / CD ]

Release Date: Friday 10 April 2015

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Avant garde. Eccentric. A maniac. Wild and adventurous. Off the wall. Extraordinary. No marketing hyperbole - this is how the player of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment describe Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach and his music. One of the many children of JS Bach, CPE Bach always lived in his father's shadow, and now is an almost unknown figure at least beyond the classical cogniscenti. How can such an unknown be considered a gamechanger? A listen to his music reveals just why - it constantly shifts, wrongfooting the listener when they least expect it with wild changes of direction and colour - it is bright, effervescent, and is a fascinating link between the music of his father (and the Baroque era) and Joseph Haydn (and the Classical era).

"These energetic, committed performances of five symphonies dating from between 1757 - when Haydn was first writing in the genre - and 1780 show the period band has lost none of its verve and enthusiasm for this strange, dramatic music from the dawn of the "classical" era." Sunday Times, 8th February 2015

"Pity this recording - of an Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment concert under Rebecca Miller 13 months ago - couldn't have been "rushed" out during Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's tercentenary year. Still, these five symphonies remind us why we should be enjoying his music regularly, not just in his 300th birthday year." The Times, 7th February 2015 ****

"very fine accounts of five excellent sinfonias … If you do not know any orchestral Bach, this would be an excellent introduction." Early Music Review, February 2015

"the music's ebullient sense of discovery courses through the performances." Financial Times, 21st February 2015

"the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment...play five of CPE Bach's symphonies, calling on that "historically aware" timbre and manner of performance in which the OAE specialises and also finding the music's pulse and heart...It is the sense of adventure that comes across vivaciously here in a fusion of stylistic taste, smooth and supple phrasing and an exuberant thrust." The Telegraph, 15th March 2015 ****

"Under Rebecca Miller's inspiriting direction , the crack players tear into the fast movements with disciplined craziness ... If you're still a CPE novice, I can't think of a better introduction to his brand of inspired eccentricity that these terrific, high-octane performances, live in every sense." Gramophone Magazine Award Nomination 2015 - Baroque Instrumental

Tracks:

Symphony in D major, Wq. 183/1 (H663)
Sinfonia in A major, Wq. 182/4 (H660)
Hamburg Symphony in B minor, Wq. 182/5 (H661)
Symphony in F major, Wq. 183/3 (H665)
Symphony in E flat major, Wq. 179 (H654)