THESE LIVESTREAMCONCERTS ARE PART OF THE CELEBRATION OF HAPPY BACHDAY, A YEARLY EVENT IN THE NETHERLANDS ON THE BIRTHDAY OF JOHN SEBASTIAN BACH, MARCH 21.

If we are speaking about Bach hebben, it is obvious we are referring to Johann Sebastian Bach. However shortly after his death in 1750 this was not that clear at all. Someone from Dresden or Leipzig might rather have thought of his son Carl Philipp Emanuel. And an inhibitant of London would have associated the name of Bach with his youngest son Johann Christian, living in London by that time. If someome may have remembered the old father Bach, he was probably thinking of Bach the famous organ virtuoso rather than the composer.

Only after the performance of the St.Matthew Passion by Mendelssohn in 1829 John Sebastian Bach would gradually obtain the status he is enjoying still nowadays as the indisputable genius with a number one ranking in the hierarchy of Western composers.

In 2021 the situation is the opposite: the music of the sons is mainly known in professional musical circles and among lovers of ancient music while the average lover of classical music will be able to mention easily a couple of works of John Sebastian.

Today the focus will be directed to the three musically most gifted sons, without neglecting the father completely. Father Bach contributed greatly to the musical education of his sons. This is proved a.o. by his Clavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann that he wrote for his eldest son in order to teach him not only the principles of keyboard playing but those of composing as well.

The links to the livestreamings are as follows:

12:00 a.m.:  https://youtu.be/gAxUxR-vA-E

8:00 p.m.: https://youtu.be/OBpWoyLTS1w

J.S.Bach (1685 – 1750)

5 Preambula from the ‘Clavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann’ 

-Nr.1 in C major BWQV 772

-Nr.4 in F major BWV 779

-Nr.8 in B flat major BWV 785

-Nr.6 in a minor BWV 784

-Nr.12 in E major BWV 777

Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1710 – 1784)

– Fantasia in e minor (1770)

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714 – 1788)

Sonata nr.3  in f minor

-Allegro assai

-Andante

-Andante grazioso

Johann Christian Bach (1735 – 1782)

Sonata in c minor op.5 nr.6  

-Grave

-Allegro moderato (Fuga)

Wilhelm Friedemann Bach

Fantasia in a minor

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach

Sonate nr.2 in d minor

-Allegro moderato

-Cantabile e mesto

-Allegro

Johann Christian Bach

Sonate in G major op.17 nr.4

-Allegro

-Presto assai

J.S.Bach

5 Fantasia’s uit het ‘Clavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann’

-Nr.1 in C major BWV 787

-Nr.3 in e  minor BWV 793

-Nr.4 in F major BWV 794

-Nr.6 in a minor BWV 799

-Nr.9 in A major BWV 798