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Johann Friedrich FASCH (1688 - 1758): Sonatas & concertos
[I] "Sonatas"
Ensemble Barucco
Dir: Andreas Helm
rec: August 11 - 12, 2020, Mauerbach (AU), Kartause Mauerbach
Accentus - ACC30644 (© 2024) (56'38")
Liner-notes: E/D/F
Cover, track-list & booklet
Sonata for bassoon and bc in C (FWV N,C1);
Sonata for recorder, oboe, violin and bc in B flat (FWV N,B1);
Sonata for violin, oboe, bassoon and bc in F (FWV N,F4);
Sonata for 2 oboes and bassoon in F (FWV N,F6);
Sonata for 2 oboes, bassoon and bc in d minor (FWV N,d2);
Sonata for 2 oboes and 2 bassoons in F (FWV N,F1)
Martin Jopp, violin;
Christine Gnigler, recorder, bassoon;
Andreas Helm, Elisabeth Baumer, oboe;
Katrin Lazar, bassoon;
Peter Trefflinger, cello;
David Bergmüller, lute;
Anne Marie Dragosits, harpsichord
[II] "Fasch's Oboe - Music at the Zerbst Court"
Musica Gloria
Dir: Nele Vertommen
rec: April 29 - May 2, 2021, Heks (B), Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-ten-Hemelopnemingskerk
Pan Classics - PC 10435 (© 2022) (61'22")
Liner-notes: E/D
Cover, track-list & booklet
Spotify
Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750):
Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis (BWV 21) (sinfonia);
Ich steh mit einem Fuss im Grabe (BWV 156) (sinfonia);
Johann Friedrich FASCH:
Concerto for oboe, strings and bc in a minor (FWV L,a1);
Concerto for 2 oboes, strings and bc in g minor (FWV L,g4);
Fantasia for 2 oboes, strings and bc in F (FWN O,F1) (Lamento);
Overture for strings and bc in G (FWV K,G19) (prélude);
Overture for 2 oboes, bassoon, strings and bc in d minor (FWV K,d4) (ouverture; fuga);
Quartet for 2 violins, viola and bc in d minor (FWV N,d3);
Sonata for 2 violins and bc in d minor (FWV N,d4);
Georg Philipp TELEMANN (1681-1767):
Concerto for oboe, strings and bc in G (TWV 51,G2)
Nele Vertommen, Nathalie Petibon, oboe;
Isabel Favilla, bassoon;
Evgeny Sviridov, Anna Dmitrieva, violin;
Lena Rademann, viola;
Evan Buttar, cello;
Beniamino Paganini, harpsichord
[III] "Concertos"
Il Gardellino
rec: June 2007, Antwerp, Augustinuskerka, Jan 2011, Antwerp, AMUZ
Accent - ACC 24399 (R) (© 2024) (1.59'22")
Liner-notes: E/D/F
Cover & track-list
Concerto for bassoon, 2 oboes, strings and bc in c minor (FWV L,c2)b;
Concerto for oboe, strings and bc in g minor (FWV L,g1)a;
Concerto for oboe, violin, strings and bc in d minor (FWV L,d4)a;
Concerto for transverse flute, oboe, strings and bc in D (FWV L,D11)a;
Concerto for transverse flute, oboe, strings and bc in b minor (FWV L,h1)b;
Concerto for trumpet, 2 oboes, strings and bc in D (FWV L,D1)b;
Concerto for violin, strings and bc in A (FWV L,A3)a;
Concerto for 2 oboe da silva, 2 violas, 2 bassoons, strings and bc in G (FWV L,G11)b;
Concerto for 2 transverse flutes, strings and bc in D (FWV L,D9)b;
Concerto for 2 transverse flutes, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, strings and bc in D (FWV L,D22)a;
Concerto for 2 transverse flutes, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, strings and bc in d minor (FWV L,d7)a;
Concerto for 3 trumpets, timpani, 2 oboes, bassoon, solo violin, strings and bc in D (FWV L,D3)b
Alain De Rudder, Steven Verhaert, Steven Bossuyt, trumpetb;
Jan De Winne, Sien Huybrechtsb, Vincent Touzeta, transverse flute;
Marcel Ponseele, Taka Kitazatob, Ann Vanlanckera, oboe;
Alan De Rijckere, Jean-François Carlier, bassoon;
Ryo Terakado, Annelies Decockb, Sophie Gent, Michyio Kondoa, Danuta Zawadab, violin;
Mika Akiha, Kaat De Cockb, viola;
Ageet Zweistraa, Benjamin Glorieuxb, Thomas Luksb, cello;
Frank Coppieters, double bass;
Shalev Ad-El, harpsichord;
Koen Plaetinck, timpanib
Scores Fasch
Johann Friedrich Fasch was a contemporary of Johann Sebastian Bach, and that has seriously hampered the interest in his music. It was the German musicologist Hugo Riemann, who at the beginning of the 20th century made an attempt to restore his reputation. 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 and theology 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 stood 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. It is due to these contacts that a large part of his instrumental works has been preserved. Unfortunately, most of his sacred works, among them nine cantata cycles, have been lost, due to the fact that nothing was printed.
Given that Fasch's music is still not part of the standard repertoire of baroque ensembles, the release of two new discs with instrumental music is most welcome. And what impressive recordings they are. That is due to Fasch's brilliance in the first place. The programme of the Ensemble Barucco offers mainly quartets, a genre that was held in high esteem at the time, as they were tailor-made to prove the composer's skills in counterpoint. Apparently Fasch had great woodwind players at his disposal, as all the pieces are for oboes and bassoon(s), which are either on their own, or partnered by recorder and/or violin.
The programme opens with the Sonata in B flat for recorder, oboe, violin and basso continuo. The first movement, marked largo, may sound familiar. It seems to be inspired by the cantata Meine Seele rühmt und preist by the Leipzig composer Melchior Hoffmann (previously it was attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach). Fasch had undoubtedly become acquainted with Hoffmann and his music during his time in Leipzig. The third movement, marked grave, is dominated by passages of staccato chords, played forte. The last movement is a brilliant allegro with rapid scales and arpeggios. The Sonata in F for violin, oboe and bassoon is another quartet but in name. The combination of two treble and one bass instrument was quite common at the time; the oeuvre of Telemann includes a number of such pieces. Notable is that the bassoon is treated on equal footing with the two treble instruments; it opens both slow movements. This indicates that Fasch had a virtuosic bassoonist at his disposal. This may have been Johann Christian Klotzsch, who moved to Darmstadt in 1736. As five of the sonatas included here are only known from manuscript sources in Darmstadt, he may have taken them with him when he moved to Darmstadt. Another option would be that Fasch wrote them during his stay there in 1714, when he took composition lessons from Christoph Graupner and his assistant Gottfried Grünewald. In that case these pieces are all early works. That is almost certainly not the case with the Sonata in C for bassoon and basso continuo. This seems to be the only solo sonata Fasch has ever written. It is a highly demanding piece of unusual length - almost fourteen minutes. It is a breathtaking piece, technically and musically, and one of the highlights of this disc.
However, let's not forget the other sonatas, those already discussed and those that need to be mentioned now. Two are performed without basso continuo. The Sonata in F for two oboes and two bassoons has been preserved without a basso continuo part, and that may indicate that it was intended for performance in the open air, for instance during hunt parties. This was not uncommon: in Telemann's oeuvre we find several pieces in scorings with and without basso continuo. The latter could be added if a piece was performed indoors. The Sonata in F for two oboes and bassoon is performed the same way. This is the only sonata in five movements. In this sonata the two oboes mostly play in dialogue with the bassoon. The fourth movement is dominated by imitation between the three instruments.
One of the most brilliant pieces is the Sonata in d minor for the same scoring, but now with basso continuo. Again, the bassoon plays a notable role, especially in the two fast movements. Brian Dean, in his liner-notes, states that this sonata includes "some of Fasch's most demanding writing for winds".
It is the perfect vehicle for the Ensemble Barucco to show its brilliance. I already wrote that this is an impressive recording. That is not only due to the quality of Fasch's sonatas, but also the performance of this ensemble. The technical skills of the players are remarkable, but - more importantly - this is music making of the highest order. The artists make the listener understand why Fasch was held in such high esteem in his time, and why it is regrettable - and hard to understand - that his music today is not that often performed. This is a recording one will return to time and again.
The second disc confirms that Fasch had some brilliant oboists at his disposal. The ensemble Musica Gloria and oboist Nele Vertommen have put together a programme in which the oboe plays a key role. It offers a kind of portrait of Fasch's instrumental music, as it includes complete works but also extracts from overtures. In addition to that, this recording has two other features. First, all the pieces are performed with one instrument per part. This is undoubtedly in line with the most common performance practice in Fasch's time, and shows that there was no separation between what we use to call 'orchestral music' and 'chamber music'. Second, the programme puts Fasch into his historical perspective, in that it also includes pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach and Georg Philipp Telemann. That makes sense, as they knew each other, either personally (Telemann) or through their music (Bach).
Telemann is represented with the Concerto in G for oboe, strings and basso continuo. The music inventory of the court in Zerbst of 1743 lists several oboe concertos by Telemann, but without a key. This shows that his music was played at the court: Telemann was Fasch's great model when he made his first forays in the music scene during his time in Leipzig. Vertommen selected this particular concerto, because it is one of Telemann's lesser-known and because the first movement opens with a motif that Bach later used for the sinfonia to his cantata Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe (BWV 156), which he later turned into the slow movement of his Concerto in f minor (BWV 1056). It is known that Fasch performed Bach's cantata Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis (BWV 21), which is a good reason to include here the sinfonia to that cantata.
Fasch was one of several composers who liked to write overtures in the French style; others were Telemann, Graupner and Bach. We only get extracts here from two such works. The scoring of the Overture in d minor is the most common: two oboes, bassoon, strings and basso continuo. The ouverture and the fugue are the first and fifth movements respectively. The prelude is the sixth movement of the Overture in G in the modest scoring for strings and basso continuo. A rather unusual piece is the Fantasia in F for two oboes, strings and basso continuo. It comprises four movements, several of which have also been preserved in other scorings, for two transverse flutes and for chalumeau. The Lamento is the opening movement; the strings start the proceedings, and play pizzicato when the two oboes enter.
The programme includes three concertos. The one by Telemann has already been mentioned. As in most of his concertos, he follows the older four-movement type. Notable is that the two oboes participate in the discourse from start to finish. That is different in the Concerto in a minor by Fasch; in the first two movements the strings start with a ritornello, and there are several passages for strings alone. In the two remaining movements the oboe manifests itself from the start. This concerto is also in four movements, but the Concerto in g minor for two oboes is in three, following the Vivaldian model. As in Telemann's concerto the oboes enter immediately.
The 'chamber music' part of Fasch's oeuvre is represented with two sonatas. The Sonata in d minor is scored for two violins and basso continuo; it is one of the pieces the above-mentioned Hugo Riemann published in a modern edition. However, there the second part is scored for viola; I assume that the part is playable by a violin, as it is played here. It is in four movements, following the Corellian model. The same is the case with the Quartet in d minor for two violins, viola and basso continuo. Fasch was, as we have already noted in the programme of the first disc, one of the composers who contributed to the genre of the quartet. Such works were often called sonata, as is the case with this piece that has been preserved in a copy with that title by Graupner. This may indicate that it is an early work, written during Fasch's time in Darmstadt. Both pieces bear witness to Fasch's command of counterpoint.
Musica Gloria is a young ensemble, founded by Beniamino Paganini and directed by him and Nele Vertommen; it has its seat in Belgium. This is their first disc, and it is a winner in every respect. First, it cannot be appreciated enough that they have opted for a programme around Fasch, who - as I wrote at the start - still plays a marginal role in concert life, in comparison with the likes of Telemann and Graupner. It is time that Fasch is liberated from the shadows of those two and Bach. Second, the playing is excellent throughout. Nele Vertommen and Nathalie Petibon are outstanding and virtuosic oboists, and their playing is a joy to listen to. The strings, among them the two brilliant violinists Evgeny Sviridov and Anna Dmitrieva, whom we know from other ensembles and recordings, are of the same level. This is an ensemble to keep an eye on, just like the Ensemble Barucco.
With the third and last recording reviewed here we stay in Belgium, but then move to the past, with a pioneering recording by another outstanding ensemble, Il Gardellino. The set of two discs reissued by Accent includes a variety of pieces in the concerto genre. A number of pieces 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 may 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 above-mentioned bassoon virtuoso Johann Christian Klotsch. 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.
As we have already noted before, 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. He 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.
With the three productions reviewed here 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 (© 2024)
Relevant links:
Ensemble Barucco
Il Gardellino
Musica Gloria