Johann Friedrich Fasch was almost an exact contemporary of JS Bach. He was educated in Leipzig but pursued a life of expert, entrepreneurial musicianship not unlike his most famed colleague, Telemann. Like many composers active in and around Dresden, Fasch benefited from the significant numbers and expertise of court orchestras which spawned the fine instrumental works of Pisendel, Heinichen and Graupner, among others.

These “world premiere” recordings reveal Fasch's melodic fluency and, most strikingly, a sophisticated armoury of wind instruments, which he marshals with the colouring and character continued by later Dresden orchestras. Tempesta di Mare, a Philadelphia-based band, identify honestly with Fasch's attentive motivic style and compelling textural imagination. Yet they aspire to none of the rich conceits of Paul Dombrecht and Il Fondamento whose delightful disc from 2004 (Fuga Libera) plays on Fasch's distinctive toying with the fulcrum of musical history between “Baroque” assiduity and a galanterie occasionally sliding into the corridors of Eisenstadt.

Tempesta di Mare shine rather more in the two concertos than the opening suite, which is a slightly ragged affair. The highlight is the genial D major Concerto (though the aria andante of the B flat work is charmingly presented), in which clucking oboes, flutes and horns flourish under the unhurried tempi of the outer movements.

These are performances which confirm Fasch's accomplished craft but without the artistic personality or élan to take the music onto a higher plane. Again, for those wishing to discover the finer delights of this excellent and life-affirming composer, go to Il Fondamento.