Early Music America Spring 2013 - (Page 36)

Tempesta di Mare: By Anne Schuster Hunter Making a Splash with Fasch How a commitment to an overlooked composer helped one ensemble gain recognition NTIL A SHORT TIME AGO, posthumous fame didn’t just elude Johann Friedrich Fasch. It practically spat in his face. Fate dealt his reputation two huge blows. First, a story frequently told about Johann Sebastian Bach takes a backhand swipe at Fasch. Fasch (16881758) was one of the composers whom Leipzig’s City Councilors wanted for the job of city music director in 1723. Bach only got the job when Fasch and other candidates turned it down. People use the story to illustrate how unappreciated Bach was in his time, the presumption being that the councilors were idiots and that the other composers (including Telemann as well as Fasch, by the way) were sub-par. Second, in a cruel twist of fate, Allied U 36 Spring 2013 Early Music America bombing during World War II nearly destroyed a huge number of unique Fasch manuscripts in Dresden. Other Baroque composers got rediscovered during the early music revival, but by the time Fasch’s turn for reappraisal came around, there wasn’t much left to reappraise. And yet, Fasch is back. One of the bright notes in the recent early music scene has been the release of three recordings of Fasch’s music by Philadelphia Baroque Orchestra Tempesta di Mare (http://tempestadimare.org). Fasch Orchestral Works, Vols. 1, 2, and 3, appeared in 2008, 2011, and 2012 on the British Chandos label to warm praise (see Recording Reviews, page 20). An unprecedented three-volume collection of, mostly, previously unrecorded music, the CDs provide a real opportunity to survey Fasch’s achievement. And with a tour in 2011, the band from Philadelphia brought Fasch back home to Germany in grand style. How Tempesta helped pull Fasch back into the limelight is a story of passion and commitment, with a rags to riches plot and a happy ending. Premieres needed The Fasch revival took a giant step forward quite suddenly in December 2006. Gwyn Roberts and Richard Stone, ﬂautist/recorder player and lutenist, wife and husband, and founding co-directors of Tempesta di Mare, were preparing for an upcoming show of modern http://www.tempestadimare.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Early Music America Spring 2013

Editor's Note
Reader Forum
Sound Bytes
Profile: Peter Nothnagle Early Music Engineer
Musings: Best of the Year
Recording Reviews
"Skillful Singing" and the Prelude in Renaissance Italy
Almira: Handel's Fountain of Youth?
Tempesta di Mare: Making a Splash with Fasch
2013 Guide: Workshops & Festivals
What I Did at Summer Camp
Book Reviews
Ad Index
In Conclusion: Teaching Recitative in Mexico

Early Music America Spring 2013