Graupner Orchestral

In comparison with their contemporary, Telemann, German composers such as Fasch, Graupner, Heinichen and Stolzel enjoy a dimin ished profile among present-day concert-goers and music enthusiasts. None of them, admittedly, was anything like so prolific as the Hamburg Director Musices but they all had one thing in common - a fascination with woodwind instruments whose role in concertos and suites was imaginatively developed in their hands. Early on in life Fasch took Telemann as a model, on at least one occasion successfully passing off a piece of his own music as that of the elder composer.

"The Scholl/Herreweghe CD is distinguished by its marriage of beautiful sound and expressive intensity. The richly nuanced orchestral playing remains forceful throughout and Scholl imbues his beguiling voice with a fervent conviction…"

It's a fairly well known fact that Bach had a keen interest in music of his musical ancestors as well as his contemporaries. His library contained music of other German composers as well as music from France and Italy. Among the composers whose music found a home on Bach's shelves were Antonio Vivaldi, Christoph Graupner, and Johann Friedrich Fasch (1688-1758). Whether or not Bach ever performed this music with his Collegium Musicum at Zimmermann's Coffee House in Leipzig is unknown, but Bach thought enough of the music of these and other composers to seek it out and collect it.