The orchestral overture or French suite was among the most popular genres
of instrumental music in Germany during the first half of the 18th century.
The critic Johann Adolph Scheibe stated in 1745: "Among the Germans
Telemann and Fasch have certainly shown the most in this manner of
overtures". Five specimens from the latter's oeuvre are
presented here under the title of
overture symphonies. Those titles
are not historical but invented in our time, probably by the author of the
liner-notes, Manfred Fechner. The reason is that eight overtures have been
preserved which are different from the 'traditional' French
overture. All of them are kept in
Schrank II, an important
collection of music once played by the court chapel in Dresden under the
leadership of Johann Georg Pisendel. The copies were made by Johann Gottlieb
Morgenstern, for decades working as violist in the chapel and also acting as
copyist.
The five overture symphonies recorded by Les Amis de Philippe date from
the later stages of Fasch's career. At that time the genre of the
French overture started to become obsolete. In his treatise on playing the
flute (1752) Johann Joachim Quantz wrote: "On account of the good
effect produced by the overtures, it is only to be regretted that they are
no longer common in Germany". This development marked a change in
musical aethetics. The overtures fell out of grace in favour of the modern
sinfonia which had its origin in Italian opera and would develop into the
classical symphony. Apparently Fasch was aware of this tendency and started
to compose
sinfonias of his own, but then without any reminiscences
of opera. His oeuvre includes 18 such pieces. However, Fasch was clearly
very fond of the French overture and didn't want to say goodbye to
the form entirely. Therefore he mixed the features of the two genres: the
overture symphonies open with an
ouverture as was usual in
the orchestral overture of old. This is followed by a movement in moderate
tempo - in these five always an andante, sometimes with the addition of
air - and a relatively short movement in fast tempo. Fasch also
adapted the character of the
ouverture, bringing it more or less up
to date with the current fashion. Traditionally it opened with a slow
section, followed by a fast section in the form of a fugue. In the
overture symphonies the contrapuntal element is strongly reduced:
some contain 'pseudo-fugues' and in the
Overture symphony
in D (G5) counterpoint has entirely disappeared. The overtures are in
four sections: the opening section has a
grave character, and the
ensuing fast section is split into three as in the middle we find a slow
episode. In some second movements various instruments are given a solo role.
The andante from the
Overture symphony in D (D2), for instance,
includes episodes for two oboes and bassoon.
The
Overture symphony in G (G21) has the most
'traditional' scoring: two oboes, bassoon, strings and bc.
This is also the basic scoring of the other overture symphonies but they ask
for a more opulent line-up. In the
Overture symphony in F Fasch
adds two horns, in the
Overture symphony in D (D2) three trumpets,
timpani and again two horns. The latter is also the scoring of the
Overture symphony in D (D1); here the two oboes are joined by two
transverse flutes playing
colla parte. The most remarkable scoring
is that of the
Overture symphony in G (G5). The number of oboes is
extended from two to three, but here Fasch included four horn parts in two
different tunings: two horns in D and two horns in G. They play quite a
prominent role here, and that includes the second movement. That was quite
unusual at the time as brass instruments in baroque compositions were mostly
silent in slow(er) movements. Apart from the instrumentation there are also
some remarkable harmonic progressions here and there.
Three of the works on the programme are recorded here for the very first
time. It is not impossible that the public performance of some of these
works - in a concert during the International Fasch Days of 2013 - was the
first ever. In his liner-notes Manfred Fechner assumes that these pieces
which Fasch composed for performance by the Dresden chapel were never
played. The copies of the parts include several errors which would certainly
have been noticed if the chapel had played them. "At most only the part
sets for the Overture Symphonies FWV K: F4 and G21 are suitable as
performance material (...)." He doesn't know why this is the
case, but suggests that these pieces may have been too
'modern' for Pisendel's taste or that they arrived at a
time when the chapel's leader - who died in 1755 - was too weak to
bother himself with them.
Whatever the truth may be, we should be happy that these fine pieces have
been preserved and have been brought to light in our own time. They are
available in manuscript - for instance from the
International Music Score Library Project - and can
be heard here. Two other
Overture symphonies have been recorded
before by the same ensemble (Fasch, 'Dresden Sinfonias &
Concertos', CPO 777 424-2). They attest to the growing interest in
Fasch's oeuvre which is well deserved. He was one of the major
composers in Germany in his time. It is also recognized that in his later
works he is a link between the baroque era and the classical period. Les
Amis de Philippe and Ludger Rémy are enthusiastic and highly-skilled
advocates of his work. The present disc proves that they are completely at
home in playing Fasch. This is a splendid disc with music which has much to
offer. The contributions of the brass players is especially impressive.
Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen
