Since the 18th century, the viola da gamba has increasingly faded into the background, so that eventually only a few significant gamba players, such as Carl Friedrich Abel, remained. Abel lived in London and worked closely with Johann Christian Bach, the younger brother of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. Close ties existed between the Bach and Abel families. Although the work provides little evidence of the viola da gamba's use, the instrument nevertheless produces a remarkable sound. In the C minor Trio of 1749, Bach aimed to create a musical dialogue that transcends the purely musical, presenting melancholic and sanguine characters as psychological opposites.
In the first movement of the trio, Melancholicus and Sanguineus engage in a musical conversation, with Sanguineus attempting to persuade his counterpart, who repeatedly relapses into his melancholy. The second movement follows without interruption, in which a friendly exchange develops between the two characters. In the Trio Sonata in B-flat major from 1754, the two violins also engage in a lively and friendly dialogue.
C. P. E. Bach's fame rested primarily on his works for keyboard instruments, although he also composed sacred music. His compositions for the clavichord, in particular, are characterized by great emotional depth. The Variations on La Folia, composed in 1776, exemplify his expressive and virtuosic style.