Tales from Music School: Johann Friedrich Fasch at the Thomasschule (1701–1707)

Abstract:Firsthand accounts of what life was like for students attending the prestigious Thomasschule in Leipzig prior to J. S. Bach's appointment as Thomaskantor in 1723 are scarce. The autobiography of Johann Friedrich Fasch (1688–1758) from 1757 contains an informative section on the musical education he received as a teenager in the early eighteenth century. Specifically, Fasch had been a junior musician at the court of Saxony-Weissenfels when the newly appointed Thomaskantor Johann Kuhnau recruited him for Leipzig in 1701. Over fifty years later, and for the benefit of his readership, Fasch weaves an entertaining "From Kapellknabe to Thomaner" character arc into his engaging narrative; it culminates in a humorous anecdote with an unexpected chronological twist. The latter emphasizes the ongoing impact that Kuhnau's rival, Georg Philip Telemann, had on Fasch's overall Kapellmeister career path.