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(More customer reviews)David Schulenberg's "The Music of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach" (from Eastman Studies in Music, Volume 79) is an enlightening contribution to the legacy and repertoire of the brilliant but somewhat obscure eldest son of composer Johann Sebastien Bach. Characterized as "Sebastian's son, Emmanuel's brother," Wilhelm Friedemann Bach left a veiled and sometimes confusing trail of compositions, half or more of them unpublished. some of his obscurity may be due to the technical challenges and difficulties of his keyboard, instrumental and vocal compositions. Two previous biographer/researchers have attempted to correct the absence of information on W. F. Bach, they are Martin Falck (1888-1914) and Peter Wolny, a German musicologist. "The Music of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach" is the first modern study of the composer written originally in English. Beginning with a brief review of the composer's early life, the second chapter goes on to discuss Friedemann's musical training under his father, and his unique emerging musical style. Subsequent chapters survey three categories of Friedemann's music: compositions for solo keyboard, instrumental ensemble, and sacred compositions created during the time of his employment as organist and director of music at Halle, central Germany. Special appendices contain notes on performance, challenges of performance and interpretation, and a List of Works, with both Falck and Bach-Repertorium numbers listed for added clarification. To this list has been added the cantata or serenata for the birthday of King Frederick the Great, of Prussia and a previously ignored or lost concerto. Particular attention is given to the vocal works of the composer in chapter 5. In closing, Professor Schulenberg's comments on the "enigmatic legacy" of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach summarizes and illuminates: "(the works of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach) are best understood not in the shadow of his father's music, nor as a somewhat peculiar offshoot of the so-called empfindsamer Stil of his brother, but as a distinctive combination of ideas now associated with both Leipzig and Dresden, mingling 'German' counterpoint and harmony with italianate fluency and virtuosity. And although remarkable for the virtuosity it demands of the performer, perhaps the most distinctive characteristic of Friedemann's best music is its elegant pathos."
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The first-born of the four composer sons of Johann Sebastian Bach, Wilhelm Friedemann was often considered the most brilliant. Yet he left relatively few works and died in obscurity. This monograph, the first on the composer in nearly a century, identifies the unique features of Friedemann's music that make it worth studying and performing. It considers how Friedemann's training and upbringing differed from those of his brothers, leading to a style that diverged from that of his contemporaries. Central to the book are detailed discussions of all Friedemann's extant works: the virtuoso sonatas and concertos for keyboard instruments, the extraordinary chamber compositions (especially for flute), and the hitherto-neglected vocal music, including sacred cantatas and a remarkable work in honor of King Frederick the Great of Prussia. Special sections consider performance questions unique to Friedemann's music and provide a handy list of his works and their sources. Numerous musical examples provide glimpses of many little-known compositions, including a concerto ignored by previous students of Friedemann's music, here restored to his list of works.
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