C. P. E. Bach has had a first-class innings in his anniversary year. This new recording from Hyperion is particularly welcome since it contains music overlooked by all the other issues which have come my way in the past 15 months or so. I'm thinking especially of the trio sonatas, two of which are included here; but there are other rarities, too, such as the 12 variations for solo harpsi chord on the theme of La folia, and a three-part Sinfonia for two violins and continuo. All the music here probably belongs to the 1740s and 1750s—fairly early on in his career in other words, but not so early that we cannot sometimes find clear traces of those individual traits which were to become so marked later on. They are to be found most persistently in the Trio Sonata in C minor, Wq161 No. 1, an unusual work in which Emanuel Bach portrays the two violins as protagonists, each representing a different complexion or humour. The two humours in this instance are those of 'sanguine' and 'melancholy', but the work is not programme music and we should not read into Bach's music more than was intended by a pleasing and well-contrived conceit. The Trio is an interesting piece in its own right and rides above the somewhat superficial images. Of greater interest, perhaps, are the unexpected pauses, the spontaneous fluctuations of temperament, the structures made up of short, contrasting ideas and the way in which he links movements into continuous units or cycles.
The remaining works are attractive examples of Emanuel Bach's early style. I enjoyed Richard Boothby's account of the Viola da gamba Sonata in D major, Wq137; he brings more colour to the music than his rival in the Capriccio/Target C. P. E. Bach Edition who, unwisely to my mind, plays both of Emanuel's sonatas for this instrument as well as a third which is possibly for viola ( (CD) C27 102, 10/88). Robert Woolley plays the Variations on La folia with vigour and easy virtuosity but, in the end, it is the two trio sonatas which steal the show. They are elegant, inventive and well constructed and several more of them would be welcome from this lively group of players. There are passages of imperfect playing in each but these are compensated for by a marvellous freshness in the Quartet's approach. The music never sounds tired through over-rehearsal or lack of commitment and the disc is superbly recorded. The three-part Sinfonia which, curiously, is omitted from the interesting programme-note, makes an attractive start to a pleasantly varied recital.'