Rondo in E-flat Major H.288

Description

This Rondo in E-flat major, H.288, is by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714–1788), the second son of J. S. Bach. The H number comes from Eugene Helm's catalogue of his works. Emanuel Bach was fond of the rondo, with its returning theme, and as a leading figure of the Empfindsamer Stil, a style prizing sudden shifts of feeling, he helped bridge the Baroque and Classical eras. It is keyboard music played on either harpsichord or piano.

It is in E-flat major and 2/4, marked Andantino. A large piece of about seven and a half minutes and 1,722 notes, it brings back a gentle theme several times, and in the passages between, notes far from the home key such as G-flat, B, D-flat, A and E appear often as the music turns in unexpected directions. Thirty-second-note ornaments are scattered through the right hand, and the left hand reaches down to F#1.

It is rated intermediate, but its length and frequent modulations call for sustained concentration. The interest lies in contrasting the returns of the theme with the wandering passages in between. Use the score view to follow how the theme comes back, and slow the playback and set an A-B loop for the ornamented passages and those thick with accidentals. The range runs from F#1 to F6, so a 61-key keyboard lacks the lowest notes.

Works in rondo form, where a recurring theme alternates with contrasting episodes — a light, appealing structure favored by Classical composers.