BACH - ABEL
For three musicians: traverso, viola da gamba and harpsichord.
The Bach-Abel connection
The friendship of these two wonderful families of musicians started in the establishment of Prince Leopold I of Anhalt-Cöthen about 1715. Christian Ferdinand Abel (1683-1737) was listed as chamber violinist and gamba player when Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was appointed Kapellmeister there. The two soon became such good friends that Bach was even asked to be godfather to Abel's first daughter. Prince Leopold loved the viola da gamba, and it is likely that Bach provided the three sonatas for gamba and harpsichord for Abel to teach the prince. The relationship between them was passed on to the next generation with their children: Karl Friederich Abel (1723 - 1787) and Johann Christian Bach (1735- 1782).
They had similar lives, students of the Bach family, friends of the Mozart family and mentors of the young Wolfgang (for a long time considered the author of one of K. F. Abel's own symphonies), Germans by birth and later Londoners at heart. In Leipzig K. F. Abel had already come into contact with Bach’s youngest son, Johann Christian, his future partner in London. K. F. Abel was at the centre of London’s concert life for nearly thirty years, from 1759 until his death. J.C. Bach arrived in London from Milan in 1762, since his operas had attracted the attention of the management of the King’s Theatre. In 1764 they started the concert series Bach-Abel, which were a great success for several years and the centre of London’s music scene. They were really good friends, even living at the same place for some time.
With this program we want to honor these composers by playing the music they wrote for our instruments: traverso, gamba and harpsichord. Instruments that were important in their lives and were one of the connections between these composers, being K. F. Abel known as the last viola da gamba player. Through the selected pieces at this concert, you will also be able to appreciate the stylistic similarities and differences among their compositions. Welcome to the Bach-Abel connection.