Abstract:
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714–1788), the second surviving son of Johann Sebastian
Bach, worked in a transitional period of music between the Baroque and the Classical period.
He is considered the most notable sonata composer in Berlin during the reign of Frederick II of
Prussia (Frederick the Great). Through C.P.E. Bach’s fifty-seven (57) years of compositions, he
worked in all major genres of the time except for opera, making original contributions to each.
C.P.E. Bach wrote three cello concertos, including Concerto in A minor, Wq 170 (1750),
B-flat major, Wq 171 (1751), and A major, Wq 172, (1753), which also exist as versions for flute
and keyboard. These concertos are early examples of virtuosic works for the cello highlighting
its merits as a solo instrument, pre-dating the concertos of Boccherini and Haydn by over a
decade. These three concertos require great technical skill of both the performer’s left and
right hands. With the pieces containing a plethora of Baroque bowing techniques, requiring
brisk string crossings with great control in the right hand while moving vertically and
horizontally on the fingerboard with the left, it is perhaps unfortunate that C.P.E. Bach’s output
of cello works was not greater.
ii
By studying the shared flute and cello concertos C.P.E. Bach, this dissertation will use
comparisons between the works for the two different instruments to create a transcription and
a stereo recording of C.P.E. Bach’s Sonata in A minor, Wq 128, for Flute, Keyboard, and Basso
continuo for cello, keyboard, and basso continuo. This transcription is intended to help fill both
a historical and pedagogical gap in the cello repertoire.
SUPPLEMENTARY FILES:
1. I. C.P.E. Bach Sonata for Cello and Basso continuo (Wq 128) - Andante - Eric Lakanen.aif
• Stereo recording of the Andante movement from the transcription project.
Performed by Eric Lakanen (Solo Cello), Peter Douglas (Harpsicord), and David
Pira (Continuo Cello). Recorded, Produced, and Engineered by Eric Lakanen.
2. II. C.P.E. Bach Sonata for Cello and Basso continuo (Wq 128) - Allegro - Eric Lakanen.aif
• Stereo recording of the Allegro movement from the transcription project.
Performed by Eric Lakanen (Solo Cello), Peter Douglas (Harpsicord), and David
Pira (Continuo Cello). Recorded, Produced, and Engineered by Eric Lakanen.
3. III. C.P.E. Bach Sonata for Cello and Basso continuo (Wq128) - Vivace - Eric Lakanen.aif
• Stereo recording of the Vivace movement from the transcription project.
Performed by Eric Lakanen (Solo Cello), Peter Douglas (Harpsicord), and David
Pira (Continuo Cello). Recorded, Produced, and Engineered by Eric Lakanen.
