Jakob Hassler (18 December 1569 – 1 January 1622) was a German
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
composer.
Life
He was born in
Nuremberg, Germany
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ci ...
, the youngest son of
Isaak Hassler
Isaak Hassler (c. 1530, in St. Joachimsthal – 14 July 1591, in Nuremberg) was a German Lutheran organist and music teacher, mainly active in Nuremberg. He is also notable as the father of the musicians Jakob Hassler, Hans Leo Hassler
Hans ...
, and brother of
Hans Leo Hassler
Hans Leo Hassler (in German, Hans Leo Haßler) (baptized 26 October 1564 – 8 June 1612) was a German composer and organist of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras, elder brother of less known composer Jakob Hassler. He was born in Nü ...
and
Kasper Hassler. The Hasslers were an important
Franco-Flemish
The designation Franco-Flemish School, also called Netherlandish School, Burgundian School, Low Countries School, Flemish School, Dutch School, or Northern School, refers, somewhat imprecisely, to the style of polyphony, polyphonic vocal music com ...
musical family in Middle Europe during the late Renaissance. Baptized in Nuremberg, Jakob was initially instructed in music, like his brothers, by his father Isaak.
Hassler is first identified on the rolls of musicians in
Augsburg
Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...
in 1585, and he was ennobled, along with his two brothers, by
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
Rudolf II
Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg), Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–160 ...
in 1595. In between, Hassler is believed to have traveled to
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
to study at the behest of the aristocratic
Fugger
The House of Fugger () is a German upper bourgeois family that was historically a prominent group of European bankers, members of the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century mercantile patriciate of Augsburg, international mercantile bankers, and vent ...
family, possibly with
Andrea Gabrieli
Andrea Gabrieli (1532/1533Bryant, Grove online – August 30, 1585) was an Italian composer and organist of the late Renaissance. The uncle of the somewhat more famous Giovanni Gabrieli, he was the first internationally renowned member of the Ven ...
. Hassler's term in the Fugger household was interrupted when he was thrown in jail for impregnating an Augsburg girl named Leonora Ostermair; Hassler was released on bail to marry her on 17 February 1597. In May, Hassler accepted a post in the prestigious court of Count
Eitel Friedrich IV of Hohenzollern-Hechingen. In 1600, Hassler published his book of
madrigal
A madrigal is a form of secular vocal music most typical of the Renaissance (15th–16th c.) and early Baroque (1600–1750) periods, although revisited by some later European composers. The polyphonic madrigal is unaccompanied, and the number o ...
s, which spread his popularity; certain madrigals from this publication appeared in collections printed throughout Europe. Dogged by a second paternity suit in Hechingen that was later dismissed, Hassler attempted to succeed his brother Hans Leo in Augsburg. Luckily, Hassler was offered a post in the Imperial Chapel in Prague instead. In 1604, Rudolf II bestowed the honorific of "von Roseneckh" on Hassler, and Hassler's descendants, among them author and composer
Gerd von Hassler, continue to observe this title.
The years until Rudolf II died in 1612 proved Hassler's most prosperous—in 1608 Hassler picked up a second appointment at the monastery of Heiligkreuz in Augsburg. When Hassler's second son was born in 1609, Rudolf II was named as his godfather. Both Rudolf II and Hans Leo died in 1612, and by 1616, the Imperial Chapel owed Hassler more than 1,000 ''
florin
The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purcha ...
s'' on his salary. In 1618, Emperor
Matthias Matthias is a name derived from the Greek Ματθαίος, in origin similar to Matthew.
People
Notable people named Matthias include the following:
In religion:
* Saint Matthias, chosen as an apostle in Acts 1:21–26 to replace Judas Iscariot
* ...
died, and in 1619, not long after the
Defenestration of Prague
The Defenestrations of Prague ( cs, Pražská defenestrace, german: Prager Fenstersturz, la, Defenestratio Pragensis) were three incidents in the history of Bohemia in which people were defenestrated (thrown out of a window). Though already ex ...
, Bohemia revolted against Matthias' successor,
Ferdinand II, setting in motion the events that ultimately began the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
. Hassler did not long survive them. He died in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
, having last picked up his salary payment on 23 April 1621; the next time they were received, on 29 September 1622, the receipt was signed by the composer's widow, Leonora Hassler.
Although Hassler's vocal works were highly regarded in their day and remain the most extensive part of his overall catalog, they are little studied and ''Grove'' dubs them "unremarkable." Nevertheless, Hassler's seven surviving keyboard works, consisting of three
ricercar
A ricercar ( , ) or ricercare ( , ) is a type of late Renaissance and mostly early Baroque instrumental composition. The term ''ricercar'' derives from the Italian verb which means 'to search out; to seek'; many ricercars serve a preludial functi ...
s, a
toccata
Toccata (from Italian ''toccare'', literally, "to touch", with "toccata" being the action of touching) is a virtuoso piece of music typically for a keyboard or plucked string instrument featuring fast-moving, lightly fingered or otherwise virtuo ...
, a
fugue
In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the c ...
, fantasy, and a
canzona
The canzona is an Italian musical form derived from the Franco-Flemish and Parisian chansons, and during Giovanni Gabrieli's lifetime was frequently spelled canzona, though both earlier and later the singular was spelled either canzon or canzone ...
, are of seminal importance as they seamlessly combine Venetian, German, and Franco-Flemish practices under one roof.
Bibliography
*Markus Grassl: ''Die in Orgeltabulaturen überlieferten Instrumentalwerke Jacob Hasslers und ihre stilistische Grundlagen. Studien zur Instrumentalmusik des 16. und frühen 17. Jahrhunderts'' (Wiener Veröffentlichungen zur Musikwissenschaft 29), Tutzing 1990. .
*C. Russell Crosby
Haßler, Jakob von In:
Neue Deutsche Biographie
''Neue Deutsche Biographie'' (''NDB''; literally ''New German Biography'') is a biographical reference work. It is the successor to the ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, Universal German Biography). The 26 volumes published thus far cover ...
(NDB). Band 8, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1969, , S. 54
External links
Works by and about Jakob Hasslerin the
Deutschen Nationalbibliothek
The German National Library (DNB; german: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek) is the central archival library and national bibliographic centre for the Federal Republic of Germany. It is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its task is to colle ...
Entry on Jakob Hassler in the Bayerischen Musiker-Lexikon Online (BMLO)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hassler, Jakob
German classical composers
German Baroque composers
Renaissance composers
German untitled nobility
1569 births
1622 deaths
17th-century classical composers
German male classical composers
Musicians from Nuremberg
17th-century male musicians