C. P. E. Bach and the History of Music

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach belongs among the few musicians who left a mark in the history of music well beyond his contributions as a famous virtuoso and a distinguished composer. As author of the earliest biography of his father, he significantly shaped the perception of J. S. Bach’s life until the present day. His own autobiography of 1772 gives much insight into his art and contemporaneous musical life. His large music library and extensive collection of musician portraits opens a window on the composer’s curatorial activities. Finally, the context of the double-choir Heilig Wq 217 sheds light on his promotion of religious concert music, his concern about his own posthumous legacy, and his original style with its impact on the music that would follow.