Keyboard Studies Presents the Music and Styles of CPE Bach

Carl Philipp Emanuel (CPE) Bach’s "Probestücke" were composed as companion pieces to his magnum opus of 18th-century performance practice: the Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments. This complete performance of the "Probestücke" was completed in May 2023 by the members of Dr. Joyce Lindorff’s doctoral seminars in the music of CPE Bach, at the Boyer College of Music and Dance.

These six sonatas, comprised of 18 movements in a lovely array of keys and characters, are performed here on a variety of instruments, as suggested by the composer himself. Like the exquisite préludes François Couperin incorporated into his tutorial L’Art de toucher le clavecin, Bach’s "Probestücke" are practice pieces that illustrate his musical concepts, but are also expressive compositional gems.

Special thanks to Dr. David Schulenberg, editor of the "Probestücke" sonatas in the Packard Humanities Institute’s Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach–The Complete Works (cpebach.org), for his artistic and scholarly contributions to this project.

0:00 Welcome Remarks by Dr. Joyce Lindorff
2:02 Introduction to the "Probestücke" by Dr. David Schulenberg
10:41 Sonata WQ 63/1 performed by Dr. Silvanio Reis, harpsichord
17:02 Sonata WQ 63/2 performed by Sarah Lee, fortepiano
24:58 Sonata WQ 63/3 performed by Hannah Han, fortepiano
37:16 Sonata WQ 63/4 performed by Julian Jenson, clavichord
47:31 Sonata WQ 63/5 performed by Dr. Joyce Lindorff, harpsichord
58:35 Sonata WQ 63/6 performed by Dr. David Schulenberg, clavichord
1:10:23 Encore - Sonata WQ 63/6 Fantasy performed by Mădălina-Claudia Dănila, fortepiano
1:17:18 Credits