‘Empfindsamer Stil’ And Its Literary Connections: A Cue To Music Instruction

Empfindsamer Stil is a German expression whose meaning has historically been debated as either a “human emotional disposition” or “a musical style”. This descriptive bibliographic study seeks to investigate the historical development of Empfindsamer Stil, its application in musical contexts, as well as its nexus with literacy works, to inform music instruction. Given the COVID-19 pandemic research environment, most of the data were collected virtually and reported thematically. Findings indicate that Empfindsamer Stil is characterized by an emphasis on the expression of a variety of deeply felt emotions within a musical work, with Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach being the principal exponent. The study also reveals that historians of philosophy across time failed to agree on the meaning of the term Empfindsamer Stil. It was therefore concluded that language is dynamic and evolving. Music educators must ensure to explore the history-contextual significance of musical terminologies, especially those that may be alien within the specific musico-cultural milieu of the learner. Also, in teaching, applying, and assessing lessons involving terminologies, music teachers must take a cue from specific historical epochs and cultures to maximize relevance and fairness. Future studies in music history, in correlation with modern psychology and literary works, will therefore help clarify further whether the term Empfindsamer Stil is best explained as a phenomenon of human emotional disposition or a musical style. Also, more research will better explain the interdependent coexistence of music and various literary works.

Musiker als Zeitungsleser?

Die beiden Briefe, die Denis Diderot auf seiner Rückreise von Petersburg Ende März 1774 in Hamburg an Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, den "größten Komponisten für Klavierinstrumente" seiner Zeit gerichtet hat, sind bereits sieben Tage nach seiner Abreise im Druck erschienen. Die Briefe der beiden Prominenten konnten mit gesteigertem Interesse rechnen, die Briefe wurden in den Zeitungen der Hansestadt mehrfach gedruckt und auch ins Deutsche übersetzt. Dass die eigene Antwort vom Komponisten zurückgehalten wurde und so am Anfang einer völlig disparaten Wirkungsgeschichte steht, ist nur eine von verschiedenen Merkwürdigkeiten dieser Korrespondenz.

Tematy muzyczne w korespondencji Fryderyka II i jego siostry Wilhelminy, margrabiny von Bayreuth

Fryderyk II Wielki (1712–86) zapisał się w historii jako wybitny strateg polityczny i wojskowy, pod którego rządami Prusy stały się jednym z najpotężniejszych mocarstw w Europie. Był także wielbicielem nauki i sztuki, w tym muzyki. Zamiłowanie muzyczne dzielił ze swoją starszą o trzy lata siostrą Wilhelminą (1709–58). Oboje pobierali naukę gry na klawesynie i lutni, ponadto Fryderyk grał na flecie. Zajmowali się także komponowaniem oraz pisali libretta operowe. W roku 1732 Wilhelmina wyjechała po ślubie do Bayreuth, gdzie zajęła się organizacją życia kulturalnego. Wszechstronne zainteresowania artystyczne i naukowe wyróżniają Fryderyka II i Wilhelminę z grona innych władców ówczesnej Europy. Oboje byli mecenasami sztuki i włożyli doniosły wkład w rozwój kultury muzycznej w swoich krajach – zakładali zespoły muzyczne, budowali gmachy operowe i zatrudniali wybitnych muzyków. W Berlinie zatrudnienie znaleźli m.in. Johann Joachim Quantz, Carl Heinrich Graun, Franz Benda, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Felice Salimbeni i Giovanna Astrua, a w Bayreuth – Adam Falckenhagen, Johann Pfeiffer, Giuseppe Antonio Paganelli i Giacomo Zaghini. Fryderyk II i Wilhelmina prowadzili obfitą korespondencję, stanowiącą dowód ich wspólnego zamiłowania do filozofii, literatury, teatru i muzyki. W listach dyskutowali na tematy muzyczne, wymieniali opinie o kompozycjach muzycznych i artystach oraz przesyłali sobie nawzajem partytury muzyczne (własne oraz innych kompozytorów, m.in. J.J. Quantza, C.H. Grauna, Johanna Adolfa Hassego, Christopha Schaffratha i F. Bendy). Zainteresowania muzyczne Fryderyka II i Wilhelminy koncentrowały się wokół muzyki kameralnej oraz opery.

Johann Christian Bach

Johann Christian Bach, the youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach (b. 1685–d. 1750), was one of the originators of the Classical style, an important composer and concert organizer in London. Born in Leipzig on 5 September 1735, J. C. Bach began his musical training under his father and mother, Anna Magdalena (b. 1701– d. 1760), and continued his studies in Berlin with his half-brother, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (b. 1714–d. 1788), after his father died in July 1750. In 1755, J. C. Bach went to Italy, studied with Padre Martini in Bologna, converted to the Roman Catholic faith, and eventually was appointed organist at the Milan Cathedral, where he composed much Latin church music. After receiving commissions for an opera in Turin (Artaserse in 1760) and two operas for the Teatro San Carlo in Naples (Catone in Utica and Alessandro nell’Indie in 1761–1762), J. C. Bach was called to London, where he served as music director at the King’s Theater in 1762–1763 (writing two operas that season, Orione and Zanaida), and he became Music Master to Queen Charlotte. With Carl Friedrich Abel, Bach organized a series of concerts at various locations in London. He continued to write operas and one oratorio for London, plus two operas for Mannheim (Temistocle in 1772 and Lucio Silla in 1775) and one for Paris (Amadis de Gaule in 1779). His keyboard and instrumental music was widely published, and he was admired by the young Mozart, who met him during his visit to London in 1764. J. C. Bach was the most cosmopolitan composer of his family; he maintained a long correspondence with Martini, and his portrait was painted by Thomas Gainsborough for Martini’s extensive collection.

PROBE-STÜCKE By Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. The Teaching and the artistic aspects of the cycle1

The article discusses the cycle of didactic pieces by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach entitled Probe- Stücke, included in one of the most important works of that composer, i.e. Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments. The text, which was first published in 1753, to this day remains a valued source of knowledge about the period and a helpful support in the process of education. It seems that the cycle of compositions included with the essay is little known and there are very few sources where we can find information about it. In this respect, practical playing schools by Johann Sebastian Bach are much more popular and are used frequently in music education. It is hardly surprising as today the Leipzig cantor is duly regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of music. However, the renaissance of the creative output of his son Carl Philipp Emanuel that we observe nowadays, seems to be the right moment to pay attention of music lovers also to the collection of didactic works of that composer. They may turn out to be the key to understand his compositions and also an important element for the field of learning to play keyboard instruments. The cycle includes a complete presentation of genres, various playing techniques, articulations, ornaments, and each part represents a diffe- rent character, a different affect. Listed elements, combined with the composer’s individual style, make the Probe-Stücke a perfect material for teaching keyboard instrument playing. In the article we will find a discussion on the works in the context of the composer’s remarks included in the theoretical part of the essay. Further on the author focuses on the analysis of the compositions in the Probe-Stücke and attempts to evaluate the usefulness of the cycle for teaching purposes as well as its artistic qualities.

Affective practices in mid-18th-century German music-making: reflections on C. P. E. Bach’s advice to performers

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach stated that a musical performer ‘must of necessity be able to transport himself into all of the affections that he wants to arouse in his listeners’. As famous as this passage is, it still raises questions. Did Bach mean that performers must arouse and feel all the shifting affections of the music within their own bodies, or was he using a metaphor here? Were composers supposed to feel the affections in their music while they composed it, as Bach suggested? Was this demand specific to Bach alone, or was it a stock recommendation given by many mid-18th-century German music writers? This article explores similar recommendations in historical sources and describes how Bach’s strategy might be enacted by performers. In an ideal empfindsam concert, the listener’s sympathetic response to the music would have been reinforced by the physical manifestations of the performer’s affective state.