Legend tells us that Johann Sebastian Bach exclaimed, “’Tis Prussian Blue! It fades easily!” when describing the music of his son Carl Philipp Emanuel. This was surely a teasing reference to the galant style, with its open musical textures and general avoidance of “old-school” counterpoint. Our program offsets the contrapuntal wizardry of Bach senior with this new style – and is especially topical for your new Artistic Director in featuring a set of variations on God Save the King by Johann Christian, the so-called “London Bach.”