EDEM 2015: musica cubicularis

Bach used the violin, the bass viol and the harpsichord in his chamber music making throughout his career. He is primarily known as a keyboard virtuoso, but found his first employment as a violinist in Weimar, later returning there as concertmaster. In Weimar he also composed for the viola da gamba, used it at the court in Cöthen – Prince Leopold is known to have played all three instruments –, and appeared with viol players at public concerts of the Leipzig collegium musicum. Our programme thus includes works from all three most important stages of his career, each piece telling a different story: a tiring journey, the death of Bach's first wife, the lost sonatas, an unusual exercise in composition and a concert in a coffee house.

Foto: Katja Smolar