Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach : Solfeggietto (for piano)

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (or C. P. E. Bach) was the 2nd son of Johann Sebastian Bach, and wrote many works for the keyboard instruments of his day. Among these works are several works labeled as "Solfeggio". The word Solfeggio comes from the same root as "Sol-fa" meaning the method of learning songs using "do re mi" etc to identify the notes. In this context applied to keyboard music, it means an exercise or a "study". This particular Solfeggio is in C minor and is usually called "Solfeggietto" meaning "little study". It's catalogue numbers are "H 220" or "Wq 117:2". It is one of C. P. E. Bach's most famous pieces and piano students are likely to come across it as part of their lessons. Throughout much of the piece only one note is played at a time, and the melody (consisting mostly of semi-quaver arpeggios and runs) seems to be shared between the two hands. It is like the two hands are cooperating to play the melody, and the difficulty is to try and make this sound seemlessly smooth and even, so that the ear can't tell which hand is playing. Sheet music, midi and mp3 files for "Solfeggietto" can be downloaded using the links on the left-hand menu, or scroll down this page to play and see the music.