Light and Dark at the Heart of Europe

In the mid-18th century, during the last years of J.S. Bach’s life and in the years following his death, a new style emerged from the court of Frederick the Great in Berlin, where the musical arts were flourishing, guided in part by the innovations of Bach’s own sons. This new Empfindsamer Stil, or “sensitive style,” sought to depict through music the natural progression of human emotions, favoring sudden, dramatic contrasts of timing and mood. This clear and conscious break with tradition, together with the music’s emphasis on soaring melody, gesture, and subtlety of expression, make the Empfindsamer Stil ideal territory for Filament’s own exploratory style.