A Tempesta di Mare In Focus project
In 2008, Tempesta presented The Fantastic Herr Fasch, a program of modern world premieres by Johann Friedrich Fasch, a Bach contemporary whose breathtaking vision would profoundly change the way we (and our audience) think about baroque music. It was like finding a crucial piece in a puzzle.
Now, after performing over 35 of his works—of which at least 28 were modern-time world premieres—and making 3 CD recordings, we count Fasch among our most played and loved composers. His truly amazing orchestral compositions were restored in house from manuscripts damaged in the firebombing of Dresden by co-Artistic Director Richard Stone, and has since been performed by orchestras around the world.
In 2011 Tempesta di Mare was invited to perform at the International Fasch Festival in Zerbst, Germany. At a return visit in June 2023, Tempesta was honored with the Fasch Prize of the City of Zerbst. While in Zerbst, we recorded a 4th CD of modern firsts by Fasch in the castle’s Riding Hall – a building that was standing in Fasch’s time. This CD is slated to be released in February 2025 on Chandos Records.
We hope you enjoy the links to discussions, anecdotes and clips about these rediscoveries.
Blog Post: Who was Johann Friedrich Fasch?
The Fantastic Herr Fasch
“Fasch is in the same world as Handel and Telemann, but he uses the musical materials in his own way. His music is so new and fresh,” says International Fasch Scholar Barbara Reul, “like a great new recipe—same ingredients, but an entirely different flavor.” Read more about rediscovering Fasch’s music, and how it survived the firebombing of Dresden at the end of WWII.
Forensic Musicians
The major source of some of his most adventurous compositions, the holdings of the Dresden library, was badly damaged during the Second World War. Despite the best efforts by archivists to protect the collection by moving it to an underground vault, percussions from the bombings caused the foundations to crack, allowing groundwater to seep in and flood the vault. Many historic items—including music by Fasch—were damaged or destroyed by mold or ink corrosion. Read more
Audio & Video
Between 2009 and 2012 Tempesta recorded three CDs of orchestral works by Fasch for CHANDOS records. Volume 4 is slated for release in February 2025. Receiving 5-Star reviews, the CDs cemented Tempesta’s world-wide reputation as one of “America’s great period instrument bands” (Fanfare). Info & Buy
TOUR: Zerbst Festival 2011
In April 2011, the Tempesta di Mare Orchestra traveled to Zerbst, Germany to perform at the International Fasch Festival there and also in the beautiful Cloister Michaelstein in the Harz Mountains. It was a fabulous trip and you can watch our montage of it while listening to Tempesta’s performance of Fasch’s Suite in F, recorded live on our series in Philadelphia. Listen & Watch
Tempesta returned to the Fasch Festival in Zerbst in June 2023.