Classical Music

The brief heyday of the Anhaltinische Hof in Zerbst (Saxony-Anhalt) coincided with the work of it's court Kapellmeister Johann Friedrich Fasch. The benevolent and prudent Prince Johann August von Anhalt-Zerbst (1677-1742) expanded his court orchestra and engaged outstanding musicians for this purpose. The duties of his Kapellmeister were varied and extensive, including providing special compositions for the birthdays of the ruling family. For the prince's birthday on 9 June 1723, he composed "The Four Day Times", a serenata for four soloists and a very colourful and lavish orchestra. With Aurora (the morning), Phoebus (the noon), Hesperus (the evening) and Cynthia (the night), the deities of the four times of day appear to pay homage to the ruler. The programme is complemented by an equally colourful four-movement Fantasia, which unusually requires three different soloist scorings: first 2 oboes, then 2 transverse flutes and the last two movements are then a first version of Fasch's concerto for chalumeau, the preliminary form of the clarinet. All works are world premiere recordings.

FASCH Overtures: in F, FWV K F3; in A, FWV K A2. Sinfonias: in A, FWV M A2; in G, FWV M G4. Concertos: in F, FWV L F2; in D, FWV L D22 • Ludger Rémy, cond; Les Amis de Philippe (period instruments) • cpo 777 424 (76:40)


Johann Friedrich Fasch (1688–1758) was the third wheel, if you will, of the late German Baroque tricycle, its other two wheels of course being Telemann and J. S. Bach. Of the three, however, Fasch soon became a footnote to music history, but not for a lack of talent or industry. Quite to the contrary: his catalog of works is extensive—at least four operas, somewhere in the neighborhood of 75 sacred cantatas, numerous masses, motets, psalm settings, a Passion, nearly 100 suites, some 75 concertos, 24 sinfonias, and 36 or more trio sonatas and quartets for various combinations of instruments. And he was regarded in his time as an innovator who made important contributions to the early development of the Classical symphony. So what happened? It’s hard to say. It didn’t help matters that not a single score by Fasch was printed in his lifetime; this, even though his close ties to the Dresden court orchestra and its concertmaster, Johann Pisendale, did for that ensemble what Johann Stamitz’s association with the Mannheim orchestra would do for that institution just a few years later.


Though Fasch’s permanent base of operations was Zerbst, much of his music is known to have been composed for the Darmstadt and Dresden court orchestras; in fact, all of the works on this disc, believed to have been written between 1730 and 1755, are identified as “Dresden Sinfonias and Concertos.” The distinction between them, insofar as titling is concerned, is a bit difficult to pin down. All but one follow the three-movement layout of the Italian sinfonia; but it seems that Fasch had his own ideas about musical nomenclature and applied them fairly liberally. Thus, the two works in this collection that carry a title of “overture” are of a hybrid nature. They are not sinfonias in the Italian manner, for even though they are in three movements, their first movements are overtures in the French style—i.e., a slow, dotted-rhythm introduction, followed by a fast fugal section, and a concluding return to the opening material. In this, they are similar to the opening movements of Bach’s orchestral overtures (suites), but there the similarities end, for they are not followed, as they are in Bach’s suites, by a sequence of dance movements, but rather by a moderately paced air and a concluding Allegro movement. The odd piece out in this collection, at least in terms of movements, is the Sinfonia in G Major, which takes the four-movement form of an early Classical symphony, but is still rooted in a Baroque style.


The two concertos are a delight. Fasch seemed to have had a special ear for exploiting the sonorities of diverse wind instruments, even more effectively, I think, than did Telemann in his many similarly scored works.


Needless to say, these are period-instruments performances, but not of the sort I’ve railed against loudly and often enough in these pages. No, these are among the best I’ve heard, distinguished by crisp, alert, refined, and disciplined playing, pitch perfect intonation, and a balance and integrity of ensemble that one hears in the very best of modern-instrument chamber orchestras. For once, I was able to listen without fear of the next squeak, squawk, or sour note that might be lying in wait in the next measure. But more than the technical polish and finesse of this superb group are the high spirits and pure joy that Ludger Rémy and Les Amis de Philippe bring to Fasch’s scores. Music-making, in its finest sense, is what happens when the players are masters of their instruments and no longer have to worry about such mundane things as playing the right notes at the right time.


This is my first encounter with this ensemble, but they have recorded, among other things, concertos by C. P. E. Bach and Manfredini, and have received plaudits in these pages from William H. Youngren, Robert Maxham, and Brian Robins. My name can now be added to that list. Enthusiastically recommended.


FANFARE: Jerry Dubins

Includes cto(s) by Johann Friedrich Fasch. Ensemble: La Stravaganza Cologne. Soloists: Sergio Azzolini, Veronika Skuplik.

FASCH Overture (Suite) in a, FWV K: a1. Concerti: in D, FWV L: D5; in G; FWV L: G13. Sinfonia in g , FWV M: g1 • Tempesta di Mare (period instruments) • CHANDOS CHAN 0783 (74:12)


Johann Friedrich Fasch (1688–1758), as my grandmother would have said, came by music honestly. He belonged to a respected and distinguished line of Lutheran theologians and cantors. Following early musical instruction in Suhl and Weissenfels, Fasch was recruited by Kuhnau for the Leipzig Thomasschule. While a student at the university in Leipzig, Fasch founded a collegium musicum that rivaled the prominence of the Thomasschule in Leipzig’s musical life. It was here that the young Fasch discovered the concertos of Vivaldi, a composer who exercised a profound influence on not only Fasch but many other composers of his generation, including Bach and Telemann.


To further his musical education, Fasch began a long journey, stopping in several European courts and cities. He eventually arrived in Darmstadt, where he studied with Christoph Graupner. Thereafter Fasch held several positions, reluctantly ending his trek in Zerbst in 1722, a position he held for 36 years until his death. That same year and following the death of his mentor Kuhnau, Fasch was invited to apply for Thomaskantor in Leipzig, but withdrew from the competition as did his friend Telemann. The post went to a man by the name of Johann Sebastian Bach, and the rest, as they say, is history.


Because of the prominence accorded Sebastian Bach in the 19th century, Fasch received little or no attention from musicologists. In the early years of the 20th century and based on his acquaintance with several of Fasch’s suites, Hugo Riemann declared Fasch to be one of the most important innovators in the transitional period between Bach and Haydn. Riemann noted that it was Fasch who “set instrumental music entirely on its feet and displaced fugal writing with modern ‘thematic’ style.” In the intervening years since Riemann’s bold statement, research has proven him correct, and the synthesis of Baroque and Classical elements allowed Fasch to create a new music language using traditional forms.


Fasch’s concertos—of which 64 survive—exhibit the evolution from Baroque to Classical. Most follow the Italian form, a fast-slow-fast sequence, but sometimes Fasch interrupts the proceedings in the ritornello with woodwind figurations that are unrelated to what is going one.


The suites—between 80 and 90 of these are still around in various locales—follow the traditional Lullian form, except that the fugues in the opening movements are occasionally interfered with by contrasting woodwind episodes. The airs, allegros, and andantes that follow, as well as other movements inserted between the dances, are equally “modern.”


This is the second disc of Fasch released by Chandos with Tempesta di Mare, the Philadelphia Baroque Orchestra. I reviewed the first in Fanfare 32: 1, noting that Tempesta “deliver(s) the goods with grace, energy, and elegance” in “performances that are fresh, vibrant, and spontaneous.” This release continues the tradition; it is full of vitality and elegance, not to mention a stylishness that is difficult to equal, let along surpass. The recordings are actual concert performances from 2010 and 2011 and are cloaked in the wonderful sonic aura of the Presbyterian Church, Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia.


Now a decade old, Tempesta is one of America’s great period-instrument bands. They are regular visitors to American Public Media’s Performance Today , heard nationwide on NPR, and both of their recordings should be a part of your collection.


FANFARE: Michael Carter

"The concert performances [on Fasch Orchestral Music] are fresh, vibrant, and spontaneous, representing the perfect marriage between musical instinct and meticulous scholarship. I don't know what waits for us in terms of future recordings by Tempesta di Mare, but I'm certainly willing to be patient, especially if content and commitment are even half this good." - Fanfare, September-October 2008.

"The American group, Tempesta di Mare from Philadelphia, keeps an easy dance character in this music that strikes an attractive balance between free interpretation and strict baroque dance rhythms. Therefore the bourée from the Concerto in B-flat, FWV L:B3 sounds unrestrained, and the polonaise with which the overture closes is fluidly and supply performed. Fasch's music is clearly beautiful enough to merit rediscovery." - Kwadratuur (Belgium), September 2008.

"5 Stars: The live concert recording [Fasch Orchestral Music] radiates a tangible sense of joy and civilized charm. Dance-like movements that feature graceful string passages, mellow horns, sweet oboes and soft flutes, create an appealing courtly atmosphere. Tempesta di Mare's playing is never less than lovely, and I particularly enjoyed the flutes and oboes in the opening Allegro of the Concerto in D. The Aria en Pologneise that concludes the Ouverture Gross in D epitomizes these good-natured and lovingly crafted performances." - Goldberg Magazine, August 5, 2008

This volume of modern premieres of works by Johann Friedrich Fasch (1688 - 1758) was recorded in concert, the programme opening the 2023 International Fasch Festival, in Zerbst, the city in which he was Capellmeister to the princely court. Tempesta di Mare has had an ongoing love affair with the orchestral music of Fasch that goes back to 2007, when the band received images of manuscript part books for several as-yet unpublished orchestral works held at the Dresden Library. They have been investigating, discovering, and performing works by Fasch every season since then, and recording those that have not already been recorded - this album is the fourth volume of such discoveries. One of the things that fascinate Tempesta di Mare about the music of Fasch, which goes beyond the craftsmanship, expressivity, inventiveness, and wit, is his very distinctive voice. Plenty of other central European composers of his time were content if their music could sound like that of Vivaldi, Corelli, or Telemann. Those influences remain clearly present in his music, but Fasch does not sound like any of them - nor, for that matter, like Bach, Handel, or any other of his contemporaries familiar to us.

Ensemble Marsyas' recording of Johann Fasch's finest chamber music demonstrates why the man and his music were so appreciated in his own lifetime. Founding member Peter Whelan and "the queen of the recorder" (BBC Radio 3) Pamela Thorby are the soloists challenged with meeting the virtuoso demands of this engaging music. The four-movement Quartet in B flat major for recorder, oboe, violin and continuo is among one of Fasch's most popular works; full of catchy tunes and contrapuntal ingenuity in equal measure, virtuosity is demanded from all concerned. The Concerto in F major for recorder and strings was only recently attributed to Fasch. It is full of characteristic Fasch-isms and of the same dramatic quasi-recitative style as his Bassoon Concerto. Upon release Fasch: Quartets and Concertos was named a Chamber Choice by BBC Music Magazine and awarded the maximum five stars for both Performance and Recording.

As the court music director in Zerbst, Johann Friedrich Fasch had to deal directly with current religious trends and was obliged to occupy himself with Pietism. After all, from the beginning of his tenure there his duties had included the composition of the church music for every court religious service and for all the church feast days. Fasch had a special mission in mind when he penned his cantatas: he was very much interested in having hislisteners not remain indifferent to the texts that were sung. And so he employed all sorts of compositional tricks to capture their attention and to emphasize words of special importance to him. This procedure is impressively revealed already at the beginning of the cantata »Ich danke dem Herrn vom ganzen Herzen.« After a short instrumental introduction the opening Biblical text is presented not as usual by the choir but initially by the solo soprano. Then in the Missa in G major almost all the facets of Fasch’s musical talent are shown; from arias with obbligato solo instruments to grandly dimensioned chorale fugues placing the greatest demands both on the singers and the instrumentalists, it was composed in its entirety for the entertainment and edification of his noble employer and to the glory of God. One of Fasch’s overture suites of extraordinary quality rounds off this album. In his autobiography he acknowledged : "On this occasion I cannot avoid publicly acknowledging that I then learned mostly everything from the beautiful work of my most revered and beloved friend, Mr. Music Director Telemann, by constantly taking the same as a model for me, especially in the overtures".

Classical Music

Tempesta di Mare, Philadelphia Baroque Orchestra, performs baroque music on baroque instruments with what the Philadelphia City Paper describes as ‘zest and virtuosity that transcends style and instrumentation’. Under its directors, Gwyn Roberts and Richard Stone, and concertmaster, Emlyn Ngai, the ensemble performs a repertoire ranging from staged opera with full orchestra to chamber music. The group performs without a conductor, as was the practice when this music was new. Tempesta di Mare has been recording exclusively for Chandos since 2004, to worldwide popular and critical acclaim. - Chandos

The third and concluding volume in our series of orchestral works by Bach contemporary Johann Friedrich Fasch includes more premiere recordings of orchestral works and his lute and recorder concertos. - Tempesta di Mare, Philadelphia Baroque Orchestra

SPECTRUM SAXOFONIS

Classical Music

Fasch, J.F.: Chamber Music With Oboe

Trumpet Recital: Guttler, Ludwig - TELEMANN, G.P. / FASCH, J