Zippel Fagottist

Transcriptions of Concerti and Ich Habe Genug, with bassoon in the leading role.
An enrichment to the Bach repertoire, where the bassoon has fallen into oblivion.
This project will culminate in our recording debut.

First performance: March 2026

Bach wrote almost no solo repertoire for bassoon. Strange, because his colleagues Graupner and Vivaldi (a great influence to Bach) and even his son Johann Christian did. This may have been due to the fact that Bach did not have good bassoonists, or was very demanding of them. There is the well-known story about the quarrel with the bassoonist from his orchestra in Arnstadt. Bach was dissatisfied with the playing of bassoonist Johann Heinrich Geyersbach, he is said to have criticized his playing and cursed him in front of everyone with the words ‘Sie sind ein ZIPPEL FAGOTTIST’, which means something like ‘a dick of a bassoonist’. The bassoonist was offended and when he asked Bach for an apology in vain after a visit to the pub on the street, he gave Bach a punch, whereupon Bach drew his sword. There are different versions of the rest of the story, but in any case, the two young men had to appear in court and were both reprimanded: Bach because he called Geyersbach a Zippel Fagottist and Geyersbach because he attacked Bach in the street.

With FLANDERS BACH-CONSORT we want to bring the bassoon to the forefront of the Bach repertoire.

PROGRAM |

Concerto for Bassoon & Harpsichord in C minor
After BWV 1060
Ich habe genug
After BWV 82
for Bass, Bassoon, strings and continuo
Concerto for Bassoon, Violin & Harpsichord in D major
After BWV 1050 (Brandenburg 5)
Geist und Seele wird verwirret
After BWV 35
for Alt, strings, Bassoon and Harpsichord
Bassoon concerto in A major
After BWV 1055

"Zippel Fagottist" will be the first programme in the new programming series "BACH transcribed", this time with bassoon in the leading role.

With "BACH Transcribed", FLANDERS BACH-CONSORT will get creative with mainly instrumental (but also vocal) works by Bach. These works will be examined and linked to a new|different instrument. In this way, we hope to make Bach's oeuvre even broader and more accessible with FLANDERS BACH-CONSORT.