C. P. E. Bach was a prolific writer of keyboard sonatas, many of which were intended for his favored instrument, the clavichord. The early decades of the Classical period were marked by vibrant, bold, and uplifting music. The writing was simple and the texture clean, providing incredible contrast to the music of the Baroque period that had just ended. The second movement of this sonata has a slow and melancholic character, in stark contrast with the first and last movements.