A musical offering

Description

It was in 1747 that Johann Sebastian Bach received an invitation from King Frederick II of Prussia. Bach traveled with Wilhelm Friedmann, his eldest son, to Potsdam where Carl Philipp Emanuel, his second son, was harpsichordist at the king's court. It was during this famous visit that Johann Sebastian improvised a ricercar or a three-voice fugue on a theme provided by the monarch, which later led him to compose The Musical Offering.This recording presents excerpts from Bach's Musical Offering, including the Trio Sonata, as well as trios by Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philip Emanuel. The intention was to highlight the family character of Bach's visit to Potsdam and Berlin in 1747 and its musical consequences. The importance of this meeting between the three most famous members of the Bach family and its impact on their respective lives and careers cannot be overstated. For Johann Sebastian himself, however, it was to be short-lived: he died three years later, in 1750.