Johann Friedrich Fasch (1688-1758)
Concertos
Il Gardellino
rec. 2007/11, Antwerp, Belgium
Reviewed as a stereo 16/44 download from Proper
Accent ACC24399 [2CDs: 120]
Johann Friedrich Fasch was a contemporary of Johann Sebastian Bach, and that has seriously hampered the interest in his music. The German musicologist Hugo Riemann made an attempt to restore his reputation at the beginning of the 20th century, but unlike Telemann and Graupner, Fasch has still not escaped from Bach’s shadow, despite attempts of the International Fasch-Gesellschaft, which is also responsible for a biennial festival.
In his own time, Fasch was a man of fame, whose works were known far beyond the regions where he worked. One of the most important of these was Leipzig, where he entered the Thomasschule at the age of 13. He came under the influence of Telemann, who arrived in Leipzig at the same time. Fasch, who had taught himself to play the keyboard and the violin, started to compose like Telemann, which he did with so much success that some of his works were performed by the Collegium Musicum. In Leipzig he also got to know music from elsewhere in Europe, in particular the concertos of Vivaldi. In 1708 he started studying law at Leipzig University, and founded a second Collegium Musicum, in which musicians took part who later ranked among the most famous in Germany. These included Pisendel, Heinichen and Stölzel. From 1712 onwards he travelled through Germany and worked in Gera, Greiz and Prague respectively, until he became Kapellmeister at the court of Anhalt-Zerbst in 1722. He refused the invitation to become Thomaskantor in Leipzig as successor to Johann Kuhnau. He stayed in Zerbst until his death in 1758.
Fasch was in contact with some of the main composers of his time, such as Telemann and Graupner, and with the concertmaster of the court orchestra in Dresden, Johann Georg Pisendel, which is how a large part of his instrumental works has been preserved. Unfortunately, most of his sacred works, among them nine cantata cycles, have been lost, as nothing was printed.
This set of two discs reissued by Accent includes a variety of pieces in the concerto genre. A number are for two or more solo instruments. One could compare them with Vivaldi’s concerti con molti stromenti. Not every instrument has extended solo passages to play; some of them come forward momentarily, but they mainly add colour to the musical fabric. An example is the Concerto in D (FWV L,D3), which is for three trumpets, timpani, two oboes, bassoon, violin, strings and basso continuo. Despite this scoring, it is in fact a violin concerto, which is the only instrument with an extended solo part. In several concertos the strings are joined by pairs of instruments, acting now and then as soloists, either transverse flutes, oboes and bassoons (Concertos in D minor and D major) or two oboe da silva, two violas and two bassoons (Concerto in G). The latter scoring results in a dark sound; oboe da silva is another term for oboe da caccia. Also noteworthy is the role of the bassoon.
Neither Bach nor Telemann composed a solo concerto for bassoon. Graupner composed four, all for the bassoon virtuoso Johann Christian Klotsch, who became a member of the Darmstadt court orchestra in 1735. Fasch’s Concerto in C minor has been preserved in a manuscript in Darmstadt, and is dated 1740, which makes it likely that it was copied for Klotsch.
Darmstadt is one of the places where a substantial number of Fasch’s concertos have been preserved in manuscript. The above-mentioned Concerto in D with trumpets and timpani is one of them, and this work may have been intended for a special occasion. The Concerto in A for violin has also been preserved there. It has a virtuosic solo part, which includes double stopping and arpeggios. The Concerto in G minor for oboe is much more modest in its requirements from the soloist. This piece has been preserved in Darmstadt and in Dresden. The library of the latter’s court orchestra is the other source where a number of concertos by Fasch are stored. Fasch regularly sent Pisendel his compositions for performance at the court. There his Concerto in D for two transverse flutes may have been performed: the Dresden orchestra always had some flute virtuosos in its ranks.
This production also includes three double concertos. Two are for transverse flute and oboe, which are treated on equal footing. The Concerto in D minor for oboe and violin is a little different in that the latter takes the lead in the last movement.
The variety in Fasch’s instrumental oeuvre is impressive. It is a bit of a mystery, why his music is relatively seldom performed. There is plenty of good stuff to find for any instrumentalist, both in solo and double concertos and in concertos for several instruments. There is really no dull moment here. That is also due to the excellent performances. They were recorded in 2007 and 2011 respectively, but they sound as fresh as if they were recorded recently. Among the performers we find some of the best of what I should call the ‘second generation’, following in the footsteps of the pioneers, such as Gustav Leonhardt and the Kuijken brothers. What could go wrong if Jan De Winne plays the flute, Marcel Ponseele the oboe and Ryo Terakado the violin? It was a good idea of Accent to reissue these recordings which may not have been available anymore. Now everyone has the chance to convince himself that Fasch was a truly outstanding composer, who deserves more attention than he is given.
Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen
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Contents
Concerto for 2 transverse flutes, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, strings and bc in D minor (FWV L,d7)
Concerto for oboe, violin, strings and bc in D minor (FWV L,d4)
Concerto for violin, strings and bc in A (FWV L,A3)
Concerto for transverse flute, oboe, strings and bc in D (FWV L,D11)
Concerto for oboe, strings and bc in G minor (FWV L,g1)
Concerto for 2 transverse flutes, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, strings and bc in D (FWV L,D22)
Concerto for 3 trumpets, tmpani, 2 oboes, bassoon solo violin, strings and bc in D (FWV L,D3)
Concerto for transverse flute, oboe, strings and bc in B minor (FWV L,h1)
Concerto for 2 oboe da silva, 2 violas, 2 bassoons, strings and bc in G (FWV L,G11)
Concerto for 2 transverse flutes, strings and bc in D (FWV L,D9)
Concerto for bassoon, 2 oboes, strings and bc in C minor (FWV L,c2)
Concerto for trumpet, 2 oboes, strings and bc in D (FWV L,D1)
