September 20, 2024
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Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer
(some authorities use the spelling Johann Kasper
Ferdinand Fischer) (c. 1656 - 27 August 1746) was a
German Baroque composer. Johann Nikolaus Forkel ranked
Fischer as one of the best composers for keyboard of his
day, however, partly due to the rarity of surviving copies
of his music, his music is rarely heard today.
Fischer seems to have been of Bohemian origin, possibly born
at Schönfeld, but details about his life are sketchy. The
first record of his existence is found in the mid 1690s: by
1695 he was Kapellmeister to Ludwig Wilhelm of Baden, and he
may have remained with the court until his death in Rastatt.
Much of Fischer's music shows the influence of the French
Baroque style, exemplified by Jean
Baptiste Lully, and he was responsible for
bringing the French influence to German music. Fischer's
harpsichord suites updated the standard Froberger model
(Allemande - Courante - Sarabande - Gigue); he was also
one of the first composers to apply the principles of the
orchestral suite to the harpsichord, replacing the
standard French ouverture with an unmeasured prelude. Both
Bach and Handel knew Fischer's work and sometimes borrowed
from it.
Many compositions by Fischer were published during his
lifetime. These published pieces include:
- Le journal du printemps (1695), a collection of
eight orchestral suites (ouvertures) for strings
(the first and last with two trumpets ad libitum, that
is, optional.) Each suite begins with an introductory ouverture and ends with a
chaconne or a passacaglia. Le Journal du printemps
and Georg Muffat's Florilegium (published the
same year) were the first collections of orchestral
suites published in Germany.
- Pièces de Clavessin (1696), several harpsichord
suites. The suites explore different styles and genres:
for instance, the 5th one consists of an aria and nine
variations, and the 8th only includes a prelude and a
chaconne. This collection was later expanded by Fischer
and the new version was published in 1698 under the
title Musicalisches Blumen - Büchlein.
- Vesperae seu Psalmi vespertini (1701), a
collection of sacred music.
- Ariadne musica (also known as Ariadne
musica Neo - organoedum, 1702). This is a
collection of pipe organ pieces (most written for
manuals only or have optional pedal)
in two parts:
- The first part contains twenty preludes and fugues
in nineteen different keys and one in the Phrygian
mode based on E. It is considered a significant
precursor to Johann Sebastian Bach's The Well -
Tempered Clavier. Bach held Fischer's work in
high regard.
- The second part contains five ricercars based on
chorale melodies.
- Lytaniae Lauretanae VII (1711), a collection of
sacred music.
- Blumen - Strauss (before 1736), a collection of
organ pieces.
- Musikalischer Parnassus (Musical Parnassus, c. 1738),
nine dance suites for harpsichord, each named after one
of the Muses. The suites represent a fusion of German
and French styles, updating the old Froberger model by
inserting many additional movements, making use of the
latest dance forms of the time and using new ideas such
as double minuets and double rigaudons. As a result,
some of the suites include as many as nine parts and are
quite long. The longest movement of all in the Musikalischer
Parnassus and the longest movement by Fischer
still extant is the Passacaglia from the Uranie
suite, which some experts believe may recount the
tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice. This movement is
probably Fischer's best-known piece, and has been
recorded by Trevor Pinnock and other harpsichordists.
Evidence exists of numerous lost works, among them an
opera in Italian style, miscellaneous chamber works, court
music and keyboard pieces.
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