Concertos for Harpsichord or Pianoforte, Op. 7
for harpsichord or pianoforte with two violins and cello
Program Notes by Martin Pearlman
The career of Johann Christian Bach, the youngest son of Johann Sebastian, followed in a general way the same route as that of Handel: Germany to Italy to England. Arriving in England in 1762, three years after Handel's death, J. C. Bach established himself as a popular composer of operas and instrumental works in an early Classical style. It was early in his London years that he was visited by the eight year old Mozart, who was greatly influenced by his music. Mozart's earliest piano concertos were arrangements of Bach's keyboard sonatas, and he esteemed "the London Bach" throughout his life.
Bach's concertos that make up his Opus 7 were published in 1770 under the title Six Concertos for the Harpsichord or Piano Forte with Accompaniments for Two Violins & a Violoncello. In that transitional time between the harpsichord and the piano, it was not uncommon to advertise works as being for either instrument. On the one hand, it could increase sales to people who did not yet have the new pianos, but it also reflected the fact that the piano had not yet developed an idiomatic style distinct from that of the harpsichord.
Bach himself is reported to have performed concerts on the piano as early as 1768, but he is also known to have performed on the harpsichord into the early 1770's. Three of these six concertos have dynamic markings that would suggest performance on a piano: forte markings below just a few notes to emphasize them, as well as progressively loud dynamic markings to indicate a crescendo. For at least those three concertos, the piano would seem to be the preferred instrument, but works from this set have been performed successfully on both harpsichord and piano.
As the publisher's title suggests, these are essentially chamber pieces with only three string instruments accompanying the keyboard soloist. That said, there might also have been performances using a larger ensemble. Horn parts for five of these concertos (all but No. 4), as well as oboe parts for No. 3, were discovered in the late twentieth century, and they appear to be authentic. While the chamber music nature of these works would have made them appealing to amateurs playing at home, a more orchestral version may have been useful for the famous series of concerts that Bach produced in London together with the gambist and composer Carl Friedrich Abel.
Cadenzas by Martin Pearlman
Boston Baroque Performances
Concerto in E-flat Major, op. 7, no. 5
November 14, 1989
Gardner Museum, Boston, MA
Martin Pearlman, harpsichord soloist
November 10, 1989
Williams College, Williamstown, MA
Martin Pearlman, harpsichord soloist
January 27, 1987
Northwest Bach Festival, Spokane, WA
Martin Pearlman, harpsichord soloist
October 10, 1980
NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
Martin Pearlman, fortepiano soloist
July 23, 1980
Prescott Park, Portsmouth, NH
Martin Pearlman, harpsichord soloist
April 2, 1976
University Lutheran Church, Cambridge, MA
Martin Pearlman, harpsichord soloist
February 29, 1976
Rockport Opera House, Rockport, ME
Martin Pearlman, harpsichord soloist