We know from an anecdote recorded in the early 19th century that Johann Sebastian Bach's wrote his two concerti for three harpsichords and strings (BWV 1063-64) with the express purpose of playing them with his two eldest sons Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emanuel. In all likelihood these pieces originated in the early 1730s, when both brilliant youngsters were still at home, possibly with an eye to introducing his sons via these concerti to the Leipzig Collegium Musicum, of which father Bach had assumed leadership in 1729.
This pair of triple concertos undoubtedly form arrangements of lost originals with solo melody instruments. But in contrast with the concertos for a single harpsichord (as well as two of the concerti for two harpsichords), no autograph sources are known for them. They only survive in copies, the earliest of which are by Bach's pupil Johann Friedrich Agricola, who made them made around 1740 (Concerto in C major BWV 1064) and after 1750 (Concerto in D minor BWV 1063) respectively.
COMBATTIMENTO is one of the world's foremost ensembles specializing in early music on modern instruments. Their core repertoire is comprised of 17th and 18th century Baroque music, from well-loved masterpieces to those completely unknown.
They strive to bridge the gap between old and new, between traditional and modern, between the audience and the music. They do this through diverse and accessible programs that are relevant to today's world.
Combattimento regularly makes high-quality video and CD recordings. They specifically choose rare repertoire: underrated masterpieces, newly composed baroque-inspired pieces, and reconstructions by our own resident musicologist and co-artistic director Pieter Dirksen.
