CPE Bach: Berlin Symphonies – Arte Dei Suonatori

Two years ago, the Arte dei Suonatori ensemble and its dynamic conductor and harpsichordist Marcin Świątkiewicz presented C.P.E. Bach’s ‘Hamburg’ Symphonies (BIS-2459)– highly expressive and personal works. Nervous, full of unexpected twists and turns, surprises, contrasts and ‘affects’, they are, in a word, marked by Empfindsamkeit (heightened emotionality).

This time, Arte dei Suonatori and Marcin Świątkiewicz present six ‘Berlin’ Symphonies, composed between 1755 and 1758, that is, before the ‘Hamburg’ Symphonies. Arte dei Suonatori and its conductor chose the original versions for strings alone with harpsichord continuo, making this recording the first to offer all these works together in their original forms without the wind parts, which were added later.

The chamber-like aspect of the writing is highlighted here by the ensemble’s compact instrumental force, where each musician participates on an equal footing and everyone is heard. Świątkiewicz also points out that their interpretation, resting on historically oriented performance practices, is “grounded in a constant search for analogies between music and poetry, alongside a close attention to prosody and dance forms”, ensuring that they will undoubtedly delight music lovers of the 21st century.