It has been a difficult task for musicologists to get a grip on Johann Friedrich Fasch. Although based in Zerbst for most of his long life -- he was born three years after Handel and died one year before -- Fasch's voluminous work is scattered throughout the archives of Europe and dedicated diligence has been required to make sense of its scope. To most listeners who are aware of Fasch at all, he is merely the composer whose trumpet concerto filled out the Erato disc featuring Jean-François Paillard's popular recording of ...
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It has been a difficult task for musicologists to get a grip on Johann Friedrich Fasch. Although based in Zerbst for most of his long life -- he was born three years after Handel and died one year before -- Fasch's voluminous work is scattered throughout the archives of Europe and dedicated diligence has been required to make sense of its scope. To most listeners who are aware of Fasch at all, he is merely the composer whose trumpet concerto filled out the Erato disc featuring Jean-François Paillard's popular recording of Pachelbel's Canon in D. Fasch is a far more interesting composer than just that would imply. A one-time student of Johann Kuhnau also strongly influenced by Georg Philipp Telemann, Fasch often thought outside the Baroque box and had a uniquely individual style that emphasized variety. In reference to his sacred vocal music, a genre in which Fasch produced hundreds of works, one usually reads "most of it is lost." One that is not is his Brockes-Passion, Passio Jesu Christi FWV F:1,...
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