Johann Christian was the youngest son of Johann Sebastian who found a home in London after travels across Germany and Italy. His cosmopolitan education and outlook can be enjoyed in these symphonies or sinfonias from the 1760s and later. Haydn may have been writing full four-movement works by then, but J.C.’s use of the old, operatically inspired three-movement model is always imaginative, enlived by attractive scoring for solo winds and strings. Some of the slow movements are certainly instrumental arias in their own right.
In all these symphonies, an energetic Allegro with a bold, attention-grabbing opening gesture leads to a slow movement (invariably marked Andante) and a fast final movement, often in a brisk triple time or with dancing or hunting associations. It might have been these examples that led to the eight-year-old Mozart composing his first symphonies while in London. Mozart often spoke well of Bach in his letters to his family. ‘I suppose you have heard that the English Bach is dead?’ he wrote to his father in April 1782. ‘What a loss to the musical world!’
Bach (JC): Symphony In G, Op. 6/1 - 1. Allegro Con Brio
Bach (JC): Symphony In G, Op. 6/1 - 2. Andante
Bach (JC): Symphony In G, Op. 6/1 - 3. Allegro Assai
Bach (JC): Symphony In E Flat, Op. 6/3 - 1. Allegro
Bach (JC): Symphony In E Flat, Op. 6/3 - 2. Andante
Bach (JC): Symphony In E Flat, Op. 6/3 - 3. Allegro Assai
Bach (JC): Symphony In B Flat, Op. 6/4 - 1. Allegro Molto
Bach (JC): Symphony In B Flat, Op. 6/4 - 2. Andante
Bach (JC): Symphony In B Flat, Op. 6/4 - 3. Presto
Bach (JC): Symphony In E Flat, Op. 6/5 - 1. Allegro Con Brio
Bach (JC): Symphony In E Flat, Op. 6/5 - 2. Andante
Bach (JC): Symphony In E Flat, Op. 6/5 - 3. Allegro Assai
Bach (JC): Symphony In G Minor, Op. 6/6 - 1. Allegro
Bach (JC): Symphony In G Minor, Op. 6/6 - 2. Andante Piu Tosto Adagio
Bach (JC): Symphony In G Minor, Op. 6/6 - 3. Allegro Molto
Bach (JC): Grand Overture In B Flat, Op. 18/2 - 1. Allegro Assai
Bach (JC): Grand Overture In B Flat, Op. 18/2 - 2. Andante
Bach (JC): Grand Overture In B Flat, Op. 18/2 - 1. Presto
Bach (JC): Grand Overture In D, Op. 18/4 - 1. Allegro Con Brio
Bach (JC): Grand Overture In D, Op. 18/4 - 2. Andante
Bach (JC): Grand Overture In D, Op. 18/4 - 3. Rondo. Presto
Bach (JC): Grand Overture In D, Op. 18/6 - 1. Allegro Con Spirito
Bach (JC): Grand Overture In D, Op. 18/6 - 2. Andante
Bach (JC): Grand Overture In D, Op. 18/6 - 3. Allegro
Bach (JC): Grand Overture In E Flat For Double Orchestra, Op. 18/1 - 1. Allegro Spiritoso
Bach (JC): Grand Overture In E Flat For Double Orchestra, Op. 18/1 - 2. Andante
Bach (JC): Grand Overture In E Flat For Double Orchestra, Op. 18/1 - 3. Allegro
Bach (JC): Grand Overture In D For Double Orchestra, Op. 18/3 - 1. Allegro
Bach (JC): Grand Overture In D For Double Orchestra, Op. 18/3 - 2. Andante
Bach (JC): Grand Overture In D For Double Orchestra, Op. 18/3 - 3. Allegro Assai
Bach (JC): Grand Overture In E For Double Orchestra, Op. 18/5 - 1. Allegro Moderato
Bach (JC): Grand Overture In E For Double Orchestra, Op. 18/5 - 2. Andante
Bach (JC): Grand Overture In E For Double Orchestra, Op. 18/5 - 3. Tempo Di Minuetto
Bach (JC): Symphony In B Flat, Op. 9/1 - 1. Allegro Con Spiritoso
Bach (JC): Symphony In B Flat, Op. 9/1 - 2. Andante
Bach (JC): Symphony In B Flat, Op. 9/1 - 3. Presto
Bach (JC): Symphony In E Flat, Op. 9/2 - 1. Allegro
Bach (JC): Symphony In E Flat, Op. 9/2 - 2. Andante Con Sordini
Bach (JC): Symphony In E Flat, Op. 9/2 - 3. Tempo Di Minuetto
Bach (JC): Symphony In B Flat, Op. 9/3 - 1. Allegro Con Spirito
Bach (JC): Symphony In B Flat, Op. 9/3 - 2. Andante
Bach (JC): Symphony In B Flat, Op. 9/3 - 3. Allegro
Bach (JC): La Calamità De' Cuori - Overture
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Bach (JC): Symphony In G, Op. 6/1 - 1. Allegro Con Brio
