Sharing Resources: J.F. Fasch, J.S. Bach and Princely Funeral Music at the Courts of Anhalt-Zerbst and Anhalt-Köthen. Issue 2 (3rd July 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Reul, Barbara M.
• Is Part Of: Musicology Australia. Volume 41:Issue 2(2019)
• Page Start: 106
• Page End: 120
• Publication Date: 2019-07-03
• Subjects: Music -- Periodicals; Musicology -- Australia -- Periodicals; Musicology -- Periodicals; Music; Musicology; Australia; Periodicals; 780.5
• DOI: 10.1080/08145857.2019.1703474
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0814-5857

Abstract

Abstract : This article investigates how the two musically most active courts in Anhalt, Köthen and Zerbst, shared human and musical resources during the first half of the eighteenth century. Emphasis will be placed on princely funeral music or Trauermusik, an important symbol of courtly representation of power during the late Baroque period. As a genre, it signalled the end of J.S. Bach's tenure as 'Kapellmeister in absentia' of Anhalt-Köthen when his former employer, Prince Leopold, died in 1729. It also marked the beginning of a long-term business relationship between the Köthen court and J.F. Fasch (1688–1758). Even though a formal contract does not seem to have been preserved, the Kapellmeister of Anhalt-Zerbst composed no fewer than thirty occasional pieces for the court of Anhalt-Köthen between 1732 and 1756. A plethora of archival documents preserved in Dessau and Zerbst help contextualize the spectacle-like nature of princely funeral music premiered at these two sister courts. While funeral cantatas were performed during elaborate princely memorial services in both Köthen and Zerbst, Fasch's 'Hochfürstliche Capelle' was also involved in public memorial events held at the Gymnasium Illustre, i.e., the University of Anhalt based in Zerbst. The article concludes with two case studies that examine primary sources related to the funerals of Prince August Ludwig's late wife in 1732 and Prince August Ludwig in 1755. Evidently, Fasch not only took over Bach's duties as 'Kapellmeister in absentia' but also served as the Oberhofkapellmeister (senior court Kapellmeister) of Anhalt for nearly a quarter of a century.