Bach Concentus . Ewald Demeyere

The CD recording that Ewald Demeyere made in deSingel a few years ago with his Baroque ensemble, Bach Concentus, immediately scored a hit, witness the favourable reviews in the international specialist press. Sufficient reason, then, to invite the ensemble to play a programme of a less well-known aspect of the Bach dynasty's music - the 'symphonie concertante' in the hands of the sons of Johann Sebastian. Like all sons, they rebelled against their father, finding his music somewhat old-fashioned, certainly Carl Philipp Emanuel and Johann Christian. Wilhelm Friedemann stuck longest to his father's ideas, but the other two developed towards the Rococo - much lighter - and got to savour the early classical music of Haydn and Mozart; indeed, Johann Christian actually met Mozart, who, in turn, was a fervent admirer of Carl Philipp Emanuel, as his first symphonies strikingly display. This musical promenade in the shadow of father Johann Sebastian reveals amazing discoveries.