C.P.E. Bach: Sonatas for Keyboard & Violin

Two artists on top form present a compelling study in the evolution of a musical genre: the sonata for solo instrument and keyboard. Violinist Rachel Podger and keyboard player Kristian Bezuidenhout start their journey with the Sonata in G Minor, H. 542.5, attributed to Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach but thought by others to be by his father, Johann Sebastian Bach. But whoever composed it, the quality of this performance is in absolutely no doubt, as Rachel Podger’s plaintive violin complements the finely etched details of Kristian Bezuidenhout’s harpsichord playing. For the elegant Sonata in C minor, H. 514, Bezuidenhout plays on a copy of an early 19th-century fortepiano, the instrument’s extraordinary grace and beauty emerging to the fore in the slow movement. Its music points the way to the heightened expression of the Arioso con variazioni per il cembalo e violino, and the equally emotive Sonata in B Minor, H. 512 which turns out to be the star of this wonderful album.