CPE BACH, Cello Concerto in A minor (1), Joe Davies, The Asyla Ensemble

CARL PHILIPP EMANUEL BACH
Concerto in A minor, Wq. 170

I. Allegro assai...................0:00

Joe Davies, cello
The Asyla Ensemble
Leader: Fiona Robertson
Conductor: Oliver Till

Often thought of as the most bonkers member of the Bach family, Carl Philipp Emanuel was an important catalyst for the Classical era of the musical Enlightenment. Unlike the highly logical, Baroque style of his father Johann Sebastian, C.P.E. Bach developed a gallant EMPFINDSAMER STIL (‘sensitive style’) evocative of rhetorical speech and theatricality. Indeed, he was not unused to critiquing pre-existing conventions having obtained a degree in Jurisprudence at the University of Leipzig in 1731.

Whereas his father’s famous ‘Cello Suites are characterised by unflinching trajectories, C.P.E. Bach’s ‘Cello Concerti are the epitome of unpredictability and wit. Soloist Joe Davies reasons that all three of these relatively neglected works “keep listeners on their toes. They do not flatter, but they certainly entertain”.

The opening Tutti (0:00) of tonight’s Concerto in A Minor is vivacious but well mannered. We are privy to strident antiphony between the upper and lower strings, but then a beguiling drop in dynamic is shattered by rude, abrasive diminished seventh sonorities. This is followed by a peculiar ‘purple patch’ in the Neapolitan key (B-flat) which is soon dispelled as if nothing strange had occurred. At last the solo ‘Cello enters with a rather melancholy theme, before the writing becomes increasingly virtuosic through sequential passage-work and lightning-fast scales. The movement comes to a head with a Cadenza, which Joe will improvise, before closing with a Tutti reprise.

The Andante Grazioso middle movement is replete with gallant idioms such as jovial trills, declamatory spread-chords and instances of sensuous chromaticism. The carefree, noble character of the main theme contrasts with more martial, dotted-rhythm figures in the Tuttis and accompanying passages. At the elegant close, the music certainly seems to resemble a most erudite, courtly peroration.

Frivolity is restored for the Allegro Finale (   • CPE BACH, Cello Concerto in A minor (...  . A cheeky grace-note motif gives rise to a jaunty theme and facetious exchange between the soloist and ensemble. After a sequence of prancing syncopation, the soloist embarks on a preposterously difficult run of semiquavers. This seems to provoke slight envy amongst the ensemble – towards the close of the movement it is as if the soloist is struggling to get a word in edgeways. These abrasive double-stopped interruptions eventually triumph and the ensemble has the final say.

Notes by Edward Spencer © 2014

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