Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach - Sonaten für Clavier und Flöte (Tini Mathot; Reine-Marie Verhagen)

Information

Composer: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach

• Sonata in E Major for Keyboard and Flute, Wq. 84
• Sonata in C Major for Keyboard and Flute, Wq. 87
• Sonata in G Major for Keyboard and Flute, Wq. 85
• Harpsichord Sonata in G Minor, Wq. 65/11
• Sonata in G Major for Keyboard and Flute, Wq. 86
• Sonata in D Major for Keyboard and Flute, Wq. 83

Tini Mathot, harpsichord

Reine-Marie Verhagen, recorder

Date: 2026

Label: Challenge Classics

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This album captures the expressive world of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, a pivotal figure bridging Baroque tradition and Classical innovation. Highlighting his keyboard and flute sonatas, the recording showcases Bach’s contribution to the Empfindsamer Stil, where the keyboard moves beyond simple accompaniment to become a fully equal dialogue partner. Performed on historical instruments using original keys and nuanced dynamics, the musicians bring out the intimate, contrasting textures between the recorder and harpsichord. The resulting interpretation delivers a vivid portrait of an imaginative composer whose daring approach to structure and emotion expanded musical possibilities during a period of dynamic transition.

Born in Amsterdam, Tini Mathot studied piano and harpsichord at the Amsterdam Sweelinck Conservatory. She collaborates frequently with her husband, Ton Koopman, performing double harpsichord concertos and chamber music across Europe, the United States, and Japan. Beyond performing with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and the award-winning Corelli Ensemble, Mathot has built an extensive discography featuring early keyboard instruments, including a Viennese Mathias Müller fortepiano from 1810. Also a distinguished educator and record producer, she teaches harpsichord at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague and produces major recording projects, including Ton Koopman's complete J.S. Bach cantata cycle and Dieterich Buxtehude's Opera Omnia.

Graduating in 1976 after studying under Pieter van Veen and Walter van Hauwe, recorder player Reine-Marie Verhagen enjoys a distinguished career in early and contemporary music. A longtime member of Ton Koopman’s Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, she has also performed 17th-century operas with La Sfera Armoniosa and presented extensive recital programs across North America. Verhagen actively champions modern repertoire, notably premiering Ulli Götte’s Mural and crafting an acclaimed arrangement of Steve Reich’s Vermont Counterpoint for recorder ensemble. Beyond her performance and transcription work, she contributed to the administrative landscape of her field as a co-founder and former board member of ERTA Netherlands.