‘FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS’: VIEWING THE LIFE AND CAREER OF JOHANN FRIEDRICH FASCH (1688–1758) THROUGH THE LENS OF FINANCE

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article traces the financial profile of Johann Friedrich Fasch, Kapellmeister of Anhalt-Zerbst from 1722 to 1758, in order to gain a better understanding of how an early eighteenth-century German court musician tried to manage his money. Factors that contributed to his debt problems ranged from personal choices, matters of faith and the need to maintain a certain standard of living as director of music, to the varying degrees of financial support offered by his employers. The period during which he first began incurring debts – his student days in Leipzig – will be examined prior to viewing his professional career path through the lens of finance, beginning with Fasch's first official appointment in Gera in 1715 and ending with his death in Zerbst in 1758. Finally, understanding the extent to which Fasch's personal debts affected his productivity as a composer means not only dealing with the ‘Music-Wechsel’ that he organized and the contents of the court's ‘Concert-Stube’ music inventory from 1743, but also considering Fasch's overall work ethic and integrity as a musician.