Johann Friedrich Fasch

Johann Friedrich Fasch (15 April 1688 – 5 December 1758) was a German violinist and composer.

[1] In 1714, unable to procure aristocratic patronage for a journey to Italy, Fasch instead travelled to Darmstadt to study composition for three months under his former Leipzig prefect Christoph Graupner[2] and Gottfried Grünewald.

His next major post was Prague, where he served for two years as Kapellmeister and court composer to Count Morzin.

[3] In 1722, he "reluctantly accepted the position"[4] of court Kapellmeister at Zerbst, Saxony-Anhalt, a post he held until his death.

[5] The Leipzig opening was eventually filled by Johann Sebastian Bach, who had considerable esteem for Fasch.

None of his music was published in his lifetime, and according to The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians in 2014, "it appears that most of his vocal works (including 9 complete cantata cycles, at least 14 masses and four operas) are lost, while the instrumental works are mostly extant.

Only one of these suites survived World War II; it is in the hand of Bach's student Carl Gotthelf Gerlach).

[12] In 1900, Riemann asserted that Fasch's style was an important link between the Baroque and Classical periods, and that he was one of those who "set instrumental music entirely on its feet and displaced fugal writing with modern 'thematic' style’";[13] New Grove's entry on Fasch states, "Later research has largely confirmed [Riemann's] assessment."

This listing is based on Rüdiger Pfeiffer's now out-dated Fasch Werke Verzeichnis.