Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer was born on September, 6, 1656, in Schönfeld, a small Bohemian town around 20 km. South of Carlsbad. Our knowledge of his life and work is very poor. Be that as it may, "Baden Capellmeister Fischer" is quoted by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach as one of the composers his father studied carefully. As a matter of fact, it is perfectly established that J. S. Bach made use of the theme of the E major fugue inserted in "Ariadne Musica" (one of the two collections Fischer wrote specifically for the organ, the other one being "Blumen-Strauss") as the subject of the E major fugue in "WTC II".
Fischer composed 20 Preludes and Fugues in 19 of the 24 keys, probably to be played in the choir organ of the apse in the cistercian monastery of Tepl. This instrument should nothave been that difficult to retune, as it had only 10 stops. The idea seems to have been echoing Andreas Werckmeister's work on "Musicalische Temperatur” (1686).
The "Musicalischer Parnassus" was not conceived as music for the organ, but some of the components of that marvelous creation just fit into the realms of the instrument, provided no "pedaliter" is considered. The “Chaconne” in F, from the “Suite Euterpe” is just the case.
