Die Vier Tageszeiten

Enrichment Although Johann Friedrich Fasch initially hesitated to accept the position of court conductor at the court of Anhalt in Zerbst, the musical heyday of the court coincided with his tenure, which began in 1722 and ended with his death. Prince Johann August von Anhalt-Zerbst soon provided the necessary conditions by expanding his court chapel with excellent musicians. On the other hand, Fasch's hesitation was not unfounded, as the workload was considerable: all instrumental music, three cantatas per week - for the vespers on Saturday and for the church services on Sunday morning and afternoon. There is evidence of eight years of cantatas by Fasch, of which only a few parts have survived, as well as masses and passions. There were also works for special occasions such as weddings and birthdays in the ruling family and for administrative tasks. For the prince's birthday on June 9, 1723, he composed the charming Serenata Freudenbezeugung der vier Tageszeiten for four soloists and an extremely colorful and sumptuous orchestra. With Aurora (the morning), Phoebus (the afternoon), Hesperus (the evening) and Cynthia (the night), the deities of the four times of day seem to pay homage to the ruler. The program of this recording with L'Arpa Festante is supplemented by an equally colorful four-part Fantasia, which has been preserved in Dresden and unusually enough requires three different soloist configurations: first 2 oboes, then 2 flutes; the last two parts seem to be an early version of Fasch's concerto for chalumeau (a relative of the clarinet). All works on this recording are world premiere recordings and thus an important addition to the ever-growing Fasch discography.