Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, one of the four best-known sons of Johann Sebastian Bach, has gone down in history as the “Bückeburg Bach.” During his years at the court of Count Wilhelm zu Schaumburg-Lippe in Bückeburg he produced a remarkable body of sacred and secular works, including piano concertos, symphonies, cantatas, oratorios, and Passion settings.

The closing disc in London Baroque’s survey of the rise and fall of the trio sonata takes us to 18th-century Germany, and includes works by no less than two Johann Gottliebs: Johann Gottlieb Goldberg – who rose to posthumous fame by being associated with J.S. Bach’s celebrated set of variations – and his namesake Johann Gottlieb Graun, violinist and composer at the court of Frederick the Great. Next to them in the list of contents are also more familiar names, such as Graun’s colleague at the Prussian court, C.P.E. Bach, and the ubiquitous G.Ph. Telemann, here represented with an unusually scored trio for violin, gamba and basso continuo. The programme straddles the divide between late Baroque and Classical music, and several of the included works point clearly at what was to come.

Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach was a child of his times, which were characterised by new beginnings and profound changes in the political and cultural arena as well as in the societal and philosophical spheres. The “Miserere” and the motet “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme” on this recording beautifully document these transformations. MDG is now presenting an archive production that has achieved historic status. Hermann Max, a pioneer in the field of historically informed performance practice, performs with the Rheinische Kantorei and his “Das Kleine Konzert” ensemble in a production for the Western German Radio (WDR).

Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach (1732–95) was the third of the musical “sons of Bach” in order of birth, but he has been overshadowed by his older brothers Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emmanuel, and his younger sibling, Johann Christian. The neglect is perhaps understandable. JCF was the least individual of the lot in personality and the most subject to outside influences (even by his younger brother). He spent most of his career in a small and backwater court, at Buckeburg, subject to the whims of his princely employer—though he was able to work there with the distinguished poet and linguist Johann Gottfried Herder.

Today, the five-string cello is treated as an exotic and rarely-played cousin of the standard cello. However, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries it was simply one of the many instruments used in the family of bass violins, and was particularly important for virtuosic sonatas and solos.

'Lamento' is a stunning collection of rarely-heard music by the Bach family. Magdelena Kozena brings these long-forgotten treasures to life with her trademark artistry and acclaimed style, accompanied by Musica Antiqua Koln and Reinhard Goebel. "A voice that has already melted some notably stony hearts… one of the class vocal acts of the early 21st century." - The Times (London)

Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach is certainly the least famous composing son of the great Johann Sebastian. He spent his life at the court of Bückeburg in Germany as court composer. His style may be loosely described as a fusion between his two brothers Carl Philipp Emanuel and Johann Christian: Galante Stil occasionally infused with daring harmonic and dynamic effects.

Les Violons du Roy. Chamber orchestra based in Quebec City, composed of 15 permanent musicians, founded in 1984 by principal conductor Bernard Labadie. Its name comes from that of the court orchestra of the Bourbon kings of France in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Johann Sebastian Bach trained his many sons to be the finest organists of their time, yet hardly any organ music survives from them. Through transcription, improvisation, and other acts of imaginative re-creation this recording reunites Bach and his boys for a program that recaptures the virtuosic panache, commanding counterpoint, impressive poise, and exuberant excess of this first family on the organ. Played by award-winning Bach scholar and organist David Yearsley on Cornell University's reconstruction of a Berlin organ from 1706, known to at least one of the Bach sons, this program explores new dimensions not only of Johann Sebastian's towering achievement but also of the kinds of now-lost contributions the next Bach generation might have made to their family instrument's long and glorious history.

This is a unique collection of largely unknown compositions of the Bach family, the largest and most incredibly talented musical family of all time. For nearly two hundred years, the Bach family dedicated themselves to singing God’s praises in music. Helmuth Rilling, who has made the works of J S Bach and his family his life work, performs these pieces with delicacy, energy and intelligence.

Another reason to take a look into the Glossa Cabinet series comes with the reappearance of Marcello Gatti’s delightful interpretation of transverse flute Sonatas by Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach (son number 9 of JS), who worked in the courtly surroundings of Bückeburg in central Germany in the last part of the 18th century. These sonatas were composed around the time of JCF’s visit to see his brother Johann Christian in London in 1778 and combine the Italian galante style with the sensitivity of the Empfindsamer Stil. Elegantly performed by Gatti and Giovanni Togni, fortepiano, with cellist Giovanna Barbati joining for a Trio in D major (from the middle of the 1780s), the recording was captured in sound by Sigrid Lee and Roberto Meo.

The clavichord enjoyed widespread popularity during the 18th century and was particularly appreciated in the Germanic countries. With its soft sound and extremely sensitive ‘dynamic’ keyboard, we are immersed in a particularly intimate relationship with the music. This programme is created around the Bach family and features works for flute and keyboard obligato, which are richer and denser than those with continuo.

The five works on the first disc are by two of the sons of J.S. Bach, and all are examples of what were known at the time as trios. Yet they are a diverse group, reflecting not only the distinct styles of their two composers by also the various types of sonatas written by them. The works on the second disc illuminate the crucial role played by C.P.E. Bach in the shift from the Baroque to the Rococo style and the tremendous artistic value of his work. On the faculty at Duke University, flutist Rebecca Troxler specializes in the music of J.S. Bach's sons and other Rococo composers and this repertoire shows off her warm tone, stylish phrasing and brilliant technique. A graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts and Juilliard, she was a founding member of Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and the North Carolina Baroque Orchestra. Her colleagues are all noted specialists in Baroque music.

That Johann Sebastian Bach had created his unbelievable compositional skills passed on to his sons as well the baroque ensemble Les Adieux shows with recordings of chamber music works by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach and Johann Christian Bach.

These attractive Classical works are played on a reconstructed cello-like instrument with five strings and twelve sympathetic strings which produces a silvery, delicate sound somewhat like the baryton.