Johann Caspar (Kaspar) Ferdinand Fischer (c.1656 – 1746) was a German Baroque composer. Johann Nikolaus Forkel ranked Fischer as one of the best composers for keyboard of his day; however, partly due to the rarity of surviving copies of his music, his music is rarely heard today.

Fischer seems to have been of Bohemian origin, possibly born at Schönfeld, but details about his life are sketchy. Fischer was baptized and spent his youth in Schlackenwerth, north-west Bohemia. Much of Fischer's music shows the influence of the French Baroque style, exemplified by Jean Baptiste Lully, and he was responsible for bringing the French influence to German music. Fischer's harpsichord suites updated the standard Froberger model (Allemande - Courante - Sarabande - Gigue); he was also one of the first composers to apply the principles of the orchestral suite to the harpsichord, replacing the standard French ouverture with an unmeasured prelude. Both Bach and Handel knew Fischer's work and sometimes borrowed from it.

The first record of his existence is found in the mid-1690s: by 1695 he was Kapellmeister to Ludwig Wilhelm of Baden, and he may have remained with the court until his death in Rastatt.

Source: Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Caspar_Ferdinand_ Fischer).

Although originally composed for String Ensemble (Dessus, Haut Contre, Taille, Quinte and Basse Continue), I created this Interpretation of the Suite in D Minor from "Le Journal de Printemps" (Op. 1 No. 4) for Woodwind Quintet (Flute, Oboe, Bb Clarinet, French Horn & Bassoon).