Dear Fasch friends,

Two years after our first newsletter was published we can again reflect on a Fasch Festival, the sixth one already.  We do so with great pleasure as it was a success. Our musical events focused on the oeuvre of Carl Friedrich Fasch of Zerbst, the founder of the Berlin Sing-Akademie, at the same time paying proper tribute to the music of his father Johann Friedrich Fasch. All of the concerts turned out to be musical events of high quality which underscored our concept: we wanted to offer only a small number of selected, high quality concerts, with the stimulating scholarly conference and the accompanying exhibition being equally succesfull. The festival received critical acclaim from audiences and the press, even though the numbers of concertgoers did not meet our expectations for some of the concerts.

This is the right place to thank all those involved for their committment - in addition to the many members and friends of the society who helped out, we would like to express our thanks to the city of Zerbst as the co-organizer with whom it has been a pleasure to work.

A detailed report on the 6th International Fasch Festival awaits you on the following pages. Moreover, we would like to draw your attention to the year 2001 because the preparations for the 7th International Fasch Festival have already begun.

Please take note of the important dates in the second half of 1999 and have a look at the new CDs which will be released in the near future. In our research corner you will read about recent and upcoming research on Johann Friedrich and Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch.

This will be our resident musicologist/archivist’s last newsletter. Dr. Barbara Reul will be returning to Canada shortly and do important “Fasch missionary work”in North America. She has agreed to continue to support our work to the best of her abilities - we will take her word on that! At this point we would like to thank her for being so committed to her work and wish her all the best for the future.

Konstanze Musketa
President

Friday, 24 September, 7. p.m., Saal, Hotel “v. Rephuns Garten”, Zerbst

• “Fasch-Geselligkeit” (“Fasch-Get together”) - an evening with special musical-culinary ambience, music performed by the Salon Orchestra Leipzig led by Matthias Erben. You may look forward to “Tafel-Musiken” by Johann Friedrich Fasch to Johann Strauss. In addition, you may enjoy a special meal created by the chefs of the hotel “v. Rephuns Garten”.

Tuesday, 14 December, 8 p.m., St. Trinitatis Church, Zerbst

• Traditional Christmas concert with the University Chorus “J. F. Reichardt”of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, soloists and the Academic Orchestra Halle (dir. Matthias Erben), musical direction Jens Lorenz. In addition to well-known seasonal music, two festive Christmas cantatas by the court Kapellmeister of Anhalt-Zerbst, Johann Friedrich Fasch, will be performed, “Ehre sey Gott in der Höhe” (1751) and “Kündlich groß ist das gottseelige Geheimnis” (ca. 1735). The president of the IFG, Frau Dr. Konstanze Musketa, will prepare the performing material for the latter work especially for this concert.

The city of Zerbst honoured their famous son Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch (1736-1800) from 15 to 18 April 1999

It was the son’s oeuvre which the Sixth International Fasch Festival focused on: numerous concertgoers looked forward to a two-day international conference and seven musical events. The MDR Kultur - a Central German radio station geared toward cultured listeners who for the first time also functioned as the media partner of the Festival - showed their appreciation as well. They broadcast the opening concert which featured the Rheinische Kantorei as well as the festive worship service with the Zerbster Kantorei live. In addition, they recorded the festive concert performed by the Ricercar Consort, Belgium, as well as the closing concert which featured the Berlin Sing-Akademie.  On 15 April, the Sixth International Fasch Festival - its patron being the minister for cultural affairs of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Dr. Gerd Harms - was opened by a series of speeches, with the trumpet ensemble Jürgen Hartmann, Leipzig, providing the music. The opening concert featured the Rheinische Kantorei and the Kleine Konzert who premiered an early cantata by Carl Fasch and performed his 119th psalm as well as a serenata from 1723 composed by his father Johann Friedrich Fasch. This concert not only thrilled the audience in the Stadthalle but also the listeners at home as indicated in letters which reached our administrative office. The evening of lieder which took place in Coswig/Anhalt, an ear candy featuring Gotthold Schwarz and Sabine Bauer, absolutely enchanted their audience. The Belgian “Ricercar Consort” moved numerous concertgoers with a lyrical programme dedicated to the viola da gamba at almost the exact same time of day in the Fasch-Saal in Zerbst. On 16 April, friends of Hammerclavier music enjoyed a Saturday afternoon with Wolfgang Brunner from Anif/Austria. He invited them to join him in his musical excursion to the bourgeois concert life of the second half of the 18th century which was influenced by Carl Fasch. At night Camerata Köln performed a very attractive programme with works by Fasch senior and his contemporaries,  enabling their listeners to gain insight into the Zerbst performance practice of the 18th century. The closing concert was performed by the Berlin Singakademie who - inbetween works by Palestrina and Mendelssohn - interpreted the most significant composition by Carl Faschs, his mass for 16 voices as well as his 51st psalm.

Since the feedback from the audience and the listeners at home as well as from the press was positive throughout, it is obvious that the “willingness for stilistic escapades” shown by the city of Zerbst and the International Fasch Society who co-organized this festival, is the right path. 

The press very much appreciated the efforts of the organizers and the performers involved in the Fasch Festival. We collected a few excerpts from reviews published in the Zerbster Volksstimme (ZE) and the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung Halle/Dessau (MZ) about which we were particularly pleased. On the opening concert, Rheinische Kantorei, Kleines Konzert: “The stars are brightly shining over Zerbst” (MZ, 17 April), “Fascinating opening and musical message at the same time” (ZE, 20 April); evening of lieder, Gotthold Schwarz, Sabine Bauer, “Hoping for this artistic cooperation to continue”; festive concert, Ricercar Consort: “Impressive musical performance” (ZE, 20 April); worship service, Zerbster Kantorei: “Two remarkable cantatas” (ZE, 19 April); closing concert, Berlin Singakademie: “Outstanding mass as the finale” (MZ, 21 April), “Another climax in first-class festival” (ZE, 22 April); overall impression of the festival: “Maintain and increase quality and charisma” (ZE, 22 April). Furthermore, interviews and reports on the festival were broadcast by the radio stations MDR 1, MDR Kultur, WDR, N3, BR, and the MDR TV station Magdeburg (pre-announcement only). Finally, an excellent report on the festival appeared in the renowned early music magazine CONCERTO (May 1999).

On 19 April the renowned early music ensemble CAMERATA KÖLN was awarded the Fasch prize 1999 of the city of Zerbst (5000 DM); the ceremony took place during a concert performed by the group entitled “Johann Friedrich Fasch and his friends”. In his speech the city official for cultural affairs, Herr Heinz Westphal, highlighted the contribution of the ensemble, in particular the members’ teaching and concert performances as well as their CD recordings with which they helped to disseminate Johann Friedrich Fasch’s oeuvre all over the world. Professor Michael Schneider who accepted the prize on behalf of the ensemble emphasized that “the ensemble would continue to be faithful to Fasch and the other Central German masters of the late baroque”.

An exhibition geared toward the 6th Fasch Festival was shown at the Museum der Stadt Zerbst from 28 March to 16 May 1999. Valuable musical and textual sources had generously been provided by the German State Library in Berlin, the Musicological Institute of the Martin Luther University Halle and others. In addition, the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin made available a.o. the bust of Carl Fasch designed according to the death mask made by Johann Gottfried Schadow.

It has been our tradition since 1993 to provide a “motto” for the International Fasch Festivals on which musicologists from Germany and from abroad present their research and which is also reflected in the programmes of the concerts offered. The Sixth International Fasch Festival was dedicated especially to the importance of the founder of the Sing-Akademie of Berlin in music history, who was one of the most famous sons of the city of Zerbst. Fifteen speakers from Germany, the USA and Great Britain presented the fruits of their research in four sessions which covered general and specific aspects of the oeuvre of Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch. Gabriele Schmidt, soprano, Michael Schaffrath, tenor, and Peter Heumann, Hammerklavier, all majoring in early music performance at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy”in Leipzig gave a mini-recital at the beginning of each conference day. Their interpretation of songs, duets and piano music by Carl Fasch and his contemporaries impressed speakers and audience alike.

Following a short message from Herr Westphal on behalf of the city of Zerbst and from the president of the IFG, Frau Dr. Konstanze Musketa, Susanne Oschmann, Berlin, presented on aspects and tendencies in the reception of Carl Fasch, providing an important framework for the entire conference. The Fasch Prize recipient of 1997, Brian Clark, Great Britain, examined violin music by Johann Wilhelm Hertel and Carl Hoeckh, Carl Fasch’s teacher, and drew attention to their stilistic influence as apparent in Carl Fasch’s oeuvre. Barbara Reul, Zerbst, had chosen early cantatas from Carl Fasch’s tenure in Potsdam which had been revised by his colleague Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach as a topic. Christoph Henzel, Berlin, provided valuable information on Fasch’s rank as court musician, while Darrell M. Berg, USA, had done research on Fasch’s and C. P. E. Bach’s piano music which turned out to have been conceived as songs. In session 2 Vera Cheim-Grützner, Potsdam, analyzed early songs by Carl Fasch in four early collections dating from 1758 to 1770 (among them “Geistliche Oden in Melodien” and “Musikalisches Vielerley”). Roderich Fuhrmann, Bremen, spoke on stylistic idiosyncracies found in piano music of the 18th century which are also displayed in Carl Fasch’s compositions. Ulrich Leisinger, Leipzig, provided a new context for Fasch’s “Arietta variata” as a Berlin Pasticcio variation. The last speaker of the first conference day, Konstanze Musketa, Halle, reported on Carl-Fasch-sources in the Paris Bibliothèque Nationale de France.
On the second conference day Ingeborg Allihn and Peter Huth, Berlin, outlined musical life in Berlin during the second half of the 18th century, convering public theaters and topographical information on Fasch, respectively. These papers provided the socio-historical context necessary to understand fully Gudrun Busch’s paper (Mönchengladbach). She presented on Fasch’s oratorio “Guiseppe riconsciuto”(1774), examining music performed by music lovers and in church in Berlin. Rachel Wade spoke on Carl Fasch’s role as “midwife” of musical life in Berlin and used excerpts from contemporary late 18th century newspapers to illustrate her main points. Finally, Jürgen Heidrich, Göttingen, and Raymond Dittrich, Regensburg, turned their attention to Fasch’s largest and most important work, his mass for 16 voices. Heidrich analyzed contemporary ideas of the late 18th century associated with the mass while Dittrich reported in detail on the copies of the mass preserved at the Bischöfliche Zentralbibliothek Regensburg.
Speakers and audience agreed during the final discussion that this conference had paved the way for an important musichistorical and musicological field, the works and philosophical ideas associated with the founder of the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin, Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch.

All papers presented at this conference shall be published in a conference report to be available in late 1999. It will include an additional article on the choral music composed by Fasch for the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin by Gottfried Eberle; he was unable to finish his paper in time for the conference due to illness.

Barbara Reul

• ... that cpo will be releasing a CD with works by Johann Friedrich Fasch featuring Klaus Mertens, Deborah Young and Accademia Daniel which was recorded in the Fasch-Saal in Zerbst?
• ... that the Rheinische Kantorei, dir. Hermann Max, is considering recording Carl Fasch’s Psalm 119? Wolfgang Brunner, Hammerklavier, has taken a liking to Carl Fasch’s songs and piano sonatas, while Camerata Köln has expressed interest in recording a CD recording of works by J. F. Fasch in the Fasch-Saal (Stadthalle Zerbst).
• ... that Dr. Reul will be giving a paper on J. S. Bach, J. F. Fasch and Anhalt-Zerbst on the occasion of the Learned’s Societies Conference (Canadian Music Society Conference) in Sherbrooke, Québec/Canada on 12 June?
• Prof. Dr. Manfred Fechner’s Ph. D. Dissertation will be available in print from the Laaber-Verlag in the fall of 1999? Prof. Fechner is a member of the Academic Advisory Council of the IFG. The title of the dissertation is “Studien zur Überlieferung von Instrumentalkonzerten deutscher Komponisten des 18. Jahrhunderts. Die Dresdner Konzertmanuskripte von G. Ph. Telemann, J. D. Heinichen, J. G. Pisendel, J. Fr. Fasch, G. H. Stölzel, J. J. Quantz und J. G. Graun: Untersuchungen an den Quellen und Thematischer Katalog. ( = Dresdner Studien zur Musikwissenschaft, Schriftenreihe der Hochschule für Musik “Carl Maria von Weber”, vol. 2, ed. Institut für Musikwissenschaft).

Bibliographie des Schrifttums zu Johann Friedrich Fasch (1688-1758), zusammengestellt von Stephan Blaut. Zerbst: Internationale Fasch-Gesellschaft, 1998, DM 9,90 AND Bibliographie des Schrifttums zu Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch (1736-1800), zusammengestellt von Susanne Oschmann. Zerbst: Internationale Fasch-Gesellschaft, 1999, DM 9,90. (Copies can be ordered from the IFG Administrative Office.)

Stephan Blaut, a graduate student from Leipzig who is currently working on a Ph.D. dissertation on J. F. Fasch’s ouverture suites at the Martin-Luther-University Halle, and Susanne Oschmann, Berlin, have provided two virtually complete and at the same extremely user-friendly and handy collections. They cover the existing secondary literature on the Anhalt-Zerbst Kapellmeister and his famous son, founder of the Sing-Akademie of Berlin. A rather remarkably number of comments exist from the 18th, 19th and 20th century, primarily on J. F. and C. Fasch’s influence, rank and reception as composers, the emphasis being on the founding of the “Singe-Academie” with regard to Carl Fasch.

Both authors opt for a chronological-alphabetical structure (1732 to 1998 and 1756 to 1999, respectively). Note that Stephan Blaut also includes entries which cover minor aspects; spot checks indicate that he always quotes the complete text provided in the source as promised in the preface to his collection, an extremely useful side effect for the user. The summaries provided by both authors are geared toward the needs of the user as well: the source in question - from monographs, journal articles, conference reports to record reviews - is introduced via exact, easy-to-understand bibliographic information, followed by a summary which is more or less detailed depending on the sources significance. In particular, the sources from the 18th and 19th century which have been included and are difficult to access, emphasize the numerous positive contemporary comments on Fasch father and son; they allow a much broader reception than before.
These two excellent, extremely compact, and user-friendly litte “encyclopedias” on the two Faschs will serve as the perfect introduction for those who have just started to become interested in Johann Friedrich and Carl Friedrich Fasch and must be considered a absolute “must” for musicologists. Both publications are due to be available on-line soon. On that occasion it would be beneficial - in addition to updating the entries on available secondary literature, especially in English - to include a alphabetized index of authors which would facilitate reading.

Barbara Reul

Dear friends of Fasch in and outside of Germany,

This newsletter will be my last as resident musicologist/archivist of the International Fasch society. After two extremely busy years dedicated to research on the two Faschs in Zerbst I will return to my home in Canada during the summer of 1999. Naturally, I will continue my activities with regard to Fasch and Zerbst and carry the Fasch torch around the world. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all individuals who supported me during my extended  “visit”, in particular the IFG executive board and the two managers Frau Spott and Frau Arndt. Special thanks must also go to the office for cultural affairs of the city of Zerbst (especially to Herr Dittmann). Finally, I would like to express my gratitude toward my colleague Frau Susanne Baselt (Frau Schuster as of June 19!) who will continue to look after your musical “well-being” and respond to all your queries and concerns to the best of her abilities.

Cordially yours in Fasch,

Barbara Reul