J.C. Bach (1735-1782)

J.C. Bach was a German composer, and the youngest son of J.S. Bach.  His music is a blend of German technique with the fluency and grace of the Italian composers.  He wrote symphonies, chamber music for stringed instruments and wind instruments, keyboard music, dramatic music, and sacred and secular music.  W.A. Mozart was influenced by J.C. Bach’s music early in his music career and borrowed several melodies by J.C. Bach and used them in a few of his early piano concertos.

Here is an aria, “Cara la dolce fiamma,” from the opera Adriano in Siria by J.C. Bach.   The aria is sung by the French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky.  It was originally sung by a castrato.  Castrati had very powerful voices (much more powerful than a countertenor).  To get the effect of how powerful a castrato’s voice might have been, imagine what it would be like blending a soprano and countertenor voice together.  For the movie Farinelli about a castrato, a soprano voice and a countertenor voice were simultaneously blended together into one voice.  Philippe Jaroussky sang as the countertenor.  I’m not sure who the soprano was.