Bach: Empfindsamkeit! Symphonies & Concertos (CD)

The period instrument ensemble Barokkanerne presents Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach in a debut recording with LAWO Classics. Led by Alfredo Bernardini, the group performs ground-breaking symphonies and concertos of this ardent next-eldest son of Johann Sebastian Bach. The music spans more than 30 years of C.P.E. Bach’s life as a composer - from his engagement as court musician in Berlin to his last years as director of music in Hamburg. This is Sturm and Drang and Enlightenment at its fieriest. Reason and feelings are distilled in a contrast-laden musical universe - Empfindsamkeit, sensitivity - in which humans and things human are the new wine of the age. Italian baroque oboe specialist Alfredo Bernardini, one of the world’s leading performers of early music, has garnered a number of international prizes for his many recordings. He is, among other things, the founder and artistic director of the ensemble ZEFIRO. Principal harpsichordist Christian Kjos is a sought-after performer who as a member of the quintet Ensemble Meridiana has won a number of prizes at international early music competitions. Barokkanerne, which debuted in the summer of 1989, has remained a Norwegian early music ensemble with an extensive concert schedule - including its own concert series in Oslo. The orchestra is a frequent guest at festivals throughout Norway and has been involved in a number of productions for Norwegian Radio and Television (NRK).