The empfindsamer Stil used by C. P. E. Bach aimed to:

• A. To emphasize strict, mathematical proportions in phrases
• B. To reflect the human vocal recitative and express human emotions as extensions of the soul
• C. To avoid improvisation in performance
• D. To create loud, virtuosic ostinati

Answer: (B)

Emotional, speech-like musical rhetoric is what the empfindsamer Stil aims for. In C. P. E. Bach’s music, melodies and phrases bend to imitate the natural inflections of speech, with moods that shift quickly and unexpectedly to mirror inner feelings. The goal is to make listeners feel the emotions as if they were voiced by a human singer, treating music as an extension of the soul’s inner life. You’ll hear sigh-like figures, sudden changes in dynamics, and expressive chromatic turns that convey tenderness, longing, curiosity, or agitation, rather than locking music into rigid, mathematical rules. This approach isn’t about strict proportions, avoiding improvisation, or piling up loud, virtuosic ostinati; it centers on conveying human voice and emotion through musical texture and gesture.