CPE Bach was the second son of Johann Sebastian and Maria Barbara Bach and to say he was a prolific composer is putting it mildly. CPE Bach wrote loads of flute music--sonatas, chamber music, and dazzling concerti. The tremendous output of flute music had to do with the fact that he had a flutist for a boss--Frederick the Great of Prussia. His touching Sonata in A minor for solo flute was composed in Berlin in 1747 and the opening movement is a palate of fall colors --golden yellows, reds, mahogany, and conifer green. This piece is a kind of meditation on the fall--it has an intimate quality unlike any other and it expresses the sadness of the passing of summer, the gratitude for the harvest, and the quality of turning inward as we light our fires and face the winter.
MUSIC:
Georg Philip Telemann, Fantaisie No. 12, performed by Karen Kevra
C.P.E. Bach, Cello Concerto in A minor, Allegro assai, performed by Alison McGillivray, and The English Concert
C.P.E. Bach Harpsichord Concerto in D Minor, Allegro, performed by Jean Rondeau, with Sophie Gent, Louis Creac'h, Fanny Paccoud, Antoine Touche, Thomas de Pierrefeu, Evolène Kiener
C.P.E. Bach Flute Concerto In D Minor, Allegro Di Molto, performed by Jean-Pierre Rampal-flute, Pierre Boulez-conductor
C.P.E. Bach Sonata in A minor for unaccompanied flute, performed by Karen Kevra
Robert Frost recites "Reluctance" -included for educational purposes
Photograph: Cornwall, Vermont backyard by Karen Kevra