Musical Offerings, Spring 2019

44 Dellaperute ⦁ Emanuel Bach dramatic tension of the retransitions in Emanuel Bach’s da capo arias and keyboard concertos also anticipates that of Beethoven’s retransitions. One can see this in the first movement of his Concerto in G Minor, Wq. 6. The retransition in this movement consists of passages alternating between the strings and the keyboard soloist, stating sharply contrasting material. Over the course of the passage (mm. 212-54), their entries grow shorter and more urgent, leading to a climactic keyboard solo that modulates back to the tonic. 37 To summarize, there are at least three pre-Romantic characteristics that are commonly taught to be innovations of Beethoven that were actually anticipated by Emanuel Bach: first, the incorporation of fantasia into sonatas; second, the lack of breaks between movements; and third, the use of interrupted phrases and subito pianos . We have also seen one additional way in which Emanuel Bach foreshadows Beethoven: namely, the high intensity of the retransitions in their keyboard concertos. Hopefully the point has been made clearly: Emanuel Bach’s empfindsamer Stil anticipates Beethoven’s style in several of its pre- Romantic qualities. Furthermore, taking into consideration the fact that Beethoven studied and revered Emanuel Bach’s works, one could conjecture that Emanuel Bach’s empfindsamer Stil may have even directly inspired Beethoven’s style. Conclusion Emanuel Bach’s empfindsamer Stil is indeed a pre-Romantic style, as it is drawn from the same philosophical principles as Romanticism, such as an emphasis on individuality, emotion, and a break from traditional rules. In addition, empfindsamer Stil is closely associated with another movement in poetry and song ( Sturm und Drang ) that is described by scholars as pre-Romantic. Finally, Emanuel Bach predates Beethoven, the “forerunner of Romanticism,” in many of his pre-Romantic characteristics. The goal of this research is to give honor to whom honor is due. In many cases, some of the great artists in history did not invent anything new; they just did it much better than the original inventors, and the audience was much more ready to receive it. For example, Debussy is often credited with being the forerunner of Impressionism. However, even though the term did not become associated with music until Debussy, the ideas and characteristics of the musical style can be traced back to earlier composers such as Abel Decaux and Franz Liszt. 37 Schulenberg, The Music of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach , 51-52.