Keith Jarrett: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (Double Vinyl / 2LP)

Keith Jarrett’s account of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s Württemberg Sonatas is a revelation.  

“I’d heard the sonatas played by harpsichordists, and felt there was room for a piano version,” says Jarrett today.  

This outstanding recording, made in 1994 and previously unreleased, finds the pianist attuned to the expressive implications of the sonatas in every moment. The younger Bach’s idiosyncrasies: the gentle playfulness of the music, the fondness for subtle and sudden tempo shifts, the extraordinary, rippling invention…all of this is wonderfully delivered. 

The fluidity of the whole performance has a quality that perhaps could be conveyed only by an artist of great improvisational skills. In Jarrett’s hands, CPE’s exploration of new compositional forms retains the freshness of discovery. Recorded at Keith Jarrett’s Cavelight Studio in May 1994, the album includes liner notes by Paul Griffiths.

CD 1
01 Sonata I in A minor, H. 30: Moderato (C.P.E. Bach) 07:33
02 Sonata I in A minor, H. 30: Andante (C.P.E. Bach) 03:15
03 Sonata I in A minor, H. 30: Allegro assai (C.P.E. Bach) 05:28
04 Sonata II in A-flat major, H. 31: Un poco allegro (C.P.E. Bach) 06:51
05 Sonata II in A-flat major, H. 31: Adagio (C.P.E. Bach) 03:07
06 Sonata II in A-flat major, H. 31: Allegro (C.P.E. Bach) 03:50
07 Sonata III in E minor, H. 33: Allegro (C.P.E. Bach) 06:01
08 Sonata III in E minor, H. 33: Adagio (C.P.E. Bach) 03:16
09 Sonata III in E minor, H. 33: Vivace (C.P.E. Bach) 02:59

CD 2
01 Sonata IV in B-flat major, H. 32: Un poco allegro (C.P.E. Bach) 05:47
02 Sonata IV in B-flat major, H. 32: Andante (C.P.E. Bach) 03:00
03 Sonata IV in B-flat major, H. 32: Allegro (C.P.E. Bach) 04:30
04 Sonata V in E-flat major, H. 34: Allegro (C.P.E. Bach) 07:41
05 Sonata V in E-flat major, H. 34: Adagio (C.P.E. Bach) 03:20
06 Sonata V in E-flat major, H. 34: Allegro assai (C.P.E. Bach) 03:31
07 Sonata VI in B minor, H. 36: Moderato (C.P.E. Bach) 07:02
08 Sonata VI in B minor, H. 36: Adagio non molto (C.P.E. Bach) 03:43
09 Sonata VI in B minor, H. 36: Allegro (C.P.E. Bach) 04:29