Johann Friedrich Fasch’s Mich vom Stricke meiner Sünden – a work for Zerbst?

Johann Friedrich Fasch reports in his autobiography, that he composed ‘strong’(‘starke’) Passion in his first year as Kapellmeister of Zerbst and, based upon this single piece of evidence, the date 1723 has generally been accepted as the possible year of composition for Fasch’s oratorio Mich vom Stricke meiner Sünden. That is, until 1997 when the completion a major study of the Zerbst Passion tradition and of the Zerbster Gesangbücher cast great doubt on this assumption. Evidence from the court records rules out the performance of Mich vom Stricke meiner Sünden, as part of the liturgy in the Schloßkirche. In this paper the two sources of the work will be compared and the evidence that suggests that the work was completed prior to Summer 1722 will be examined, in particular the evidence provided by the Zerbst Cantional, to demonstrate that the forms of the melody in Mich vom Stricke meiner Sünden are at variance with the those used by Fasch in sacred cantata works from his first year of employment at Zerbst. To conclude, the circumstances of a performance in Greiz are discussed

Passion composition and composers of Passion music associated with the court of Anhalt-Zerbst.

The dissertation provides a critical study of the five surviving Passion-works associated with the Kapellmeisters of the court of Zerbst within the context of the unique tradition of Passiontide oratorio performances in this centre between 1720 and 1767. To provide a necessary context to the principal topic, the dissertation commences with a survey of the 18th- century oratorio Passion giving a discussion of the centres that supported performances of liturgical Passions, their repertoire and how the works concerned reflected local liturgical requirements. Addressing in turn texts, singing characters, allocation of vocal soloists, instrumentation, musical structures and style, the first chapter examines the development of the form and the conventions of the period, highlighting departures from accepted norms. The chapter ends with two case studies (Telemann's 1744 St Luke Passion and Homilius's St Mark Passion), to provide contrasting examples of mid-century works. Chapter 2 surveys the development of the Zerbst Hofkapelle in the 18th century: the players and the repertoire. Chapters provides biographies of the three full-time Kapellmeisters (Johann Baptiste Kuch, Johann Friedrich Fasch and Johann Georg Rollig) together with a greatly extended work-list for Rollig. Chapter 4 discusses the evidence provided by the scores and surviving records of services in the Zerbst SchloBkirche from which it is possible to build up a picture of the context of the Passion performances in the Zerbst liturgy and the contents of the Passiontide services. It has also been possible to make an assessment of the number of works that were composed for this centre in the 18th century. Chapters 5 provides a survey of the principal sources of hymns in the Court (the various Zerbstisches Gesangbucher and Cantional) and discusses the relationships of the surviving works with these two sources. The remaining chapters each deal with one of the surviving works: Fasch's Mich vom Stricke meiner Sunden, Rollig's St Matthew Passion, the anonymous four-Part St Luke and seven-Part St John Passions and Rollig's St Mark Passion (Die betrubte und getrostete Geistliche Sulamith ). In the light of the evidence presented, the concluding chapter provides tentative suggestions regarding the authorship of the anonymous works

Passion composition and composers of Passion music associated with the court of Anhalt-Zerbst.

The dissertation provides a critical study of the five surviving Passion-works associated with the Kapellmeisters of the court of Zerbst within the context of the unique tradition of Passiontide oratorio performances in this centre between 1720 and 1767. To provide a necessary context to the principal topic, the dissertation commences with a survey of the 18th- century oratorio Passion giving a discussion of the centres that supported performances of liturgical Passions, their repertoire and how the works concerned reflected local liturgical requirements. Addressing in turn texts, singing characters, allocation of vocal soloists, instrumentation, musical structures and style, the first chapter examines the development of the form and the conventions of the period, highlighting departures from accepted norms. The chapter ends with two case studies (Telemann's 1744 St Luke Passion and Homilius's St Mark Passion), to provide contrasting examples of mid-century works. Chapter 2 surveys the development of the Zerbst Hofkapelle in the 18th century: the players and the repertoire. Chapters provides biographies of the three full-time Kapellmeisters (Johann Baptiste Kuch, Johann Friedrich Fasch and Johann Georg Rollig) together with a greatly extended work-list for Rollig. Chapter 4 discusses the evidence provided by the scores and surviving records of services in the Zerbst SchloBkirche from which it is possible to build up a picture of the context of the Passion performances in the Zerbst liturgy and the contents of the Passiontide services. It has also been possible to make an assessment of the number of works that were composed for this centre in the 18th century. Chapters 5 provides a survey of the principal sources of hymns in the Court (the various Zerbstisches Gesangbucher and Cantional) and discusses the relationships of the surviving works with these two sources. The remaining chapters each deal with one of the surviving works: Fasch's Mich vom Stricke meiner Sunden, Rollig's St Matthew Passion, the anonymous four-Part St Luke and seven-Part St John Passions and Rollig's St Mark Passion (Die betrubte und getrostete Geistliche Sulamith ). In the light of the evidence presented, the concluding chapter provides tentative suggestions regarding the authorship of the anonymous works