Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's three sonatas for viola da gamba must be among the very last solo pieces outside France for an instrument which had been gradually supplanted by the cello. The two earlier of Emanuel Bach's sonatas for viola da gamba (H558 and H559) are of the continuo accompaniment type and date from the mid 1740s. The Third Sonata (H510), written in 1759 is, by contrast a more up-to-date work with a fully written out harpsichord part providing a partnership on a more equal footing with the gamba. From the gambist's viewpoint all three sonatas are virtuoso pieces which explore pretty widely the expressive and technical range of the instrument.
The partnership of Charles Medlam and Richard Egarr, with William Hunt in the two continuo sonatas, is an effective one. Medlam's tone is clear and, in all but a few instances of demonic passagework, tonally wellHe articulates cogently, allowing us to enjoy numerous little details in Bach's writing, and has a lively response to the Empfindsamer Stil, present to a greater or lesser extent in almost all Emanuel's music after 1740 or so. Bach was no greenhorn where the viola da gamba was concerned and readers as yet unfamiliar with these pieces will be struck by their expressive intensity, as much a result of the composer's informed knowledge of the instrument for which he was writing as of innate qualities in the music itself; and with his home background we should not, perhaps, be too surprised. Medlam seems to me to have responded to the music with a nice balance of head and heart and in so doing has realized Bach's own view of a good performance—''the ability through singing or playing to make the ear conscious of the true content and affect of a composition''
The remainder of this well-constructed programme consists of two keyboard sonatas, the E major from the ''Prussian'' set and the A minor from the ''Wurttemberg''. Richard Egarr gives stylish performances of them, paying close attention to ornaments but not falling into the trap of using them to excess. Perhaps Bach's temperamental gestures are a shade underplayed from time to time but that is preferable to overstatement. At present his solo keyboard music is poorly represented in the catalogue so these sonatas are especially welcome. In short, a fine disc, well recorded and usefully documented.'