Jacob Herschel (1734-1792) - Quartetti per il cembalo, No.1 Op.I (c.1770)
World Premiere Recording
Performers: Sibelius + Harpsichord samples (edited by Pau NG)
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German composer. He was the second of the ten children born to Isaac and
Anna Herschel of Hanover, and the eldest of their six boys. Five of the
boys survived infancy and every one of them showed precocious talent as
musicians. Three of the four who survived into adult life had other
talents - William in mechanics and astronomy, Alexander in mechanics,
and Dietrich in natural history - but Jacob, musically the most gifted
of all, found fulfilment in his music. At the early age of fourteen he
followed his father into the band of the Hanoverian Guards, a pleasant
enough life in peacetime but hazardous and stressful in times of war. It
did not compare with the comfort and prestige of a post in the Court
Orchestra of Hanover, and in the autumn of 1755 he petitioned for his
discharge from the army in expectation of a post in the orchestra. But
sadly the discharge had not arrived when the Guards marched out of
Hanover, to reinforce England against a French invasion. The Guards
eventually sailed for England at the end of March 1756. Later that year
Jacob received his discharge and returned to Hanover, a civilian. Before
long the French threatened Hanover itself, and on 26 Julu 1757 the
Hanoverians and their allies were defeated at the Battle of Hastenbeck
and the town occupied by the victors. Jacob spent weeks in hiding, first
to escape being pressed into the makeshift defence force being
assembled by the burghers, and then to avoid arousing the interest of
the occupiers. He eventually slipped out of the town, joined William in
Hamburg, and together they took refuge in England. There the brothers at
first scratched a living, teaching and copying music. William emerged
as a significant figure on the English musical scene, but Jacob
preferred to return home in 1779, when peace had returned to the region
aroung Hanover. There he successfully auditioned for a post in the Court
orchestra; and although he spent extended visits in England in the
years ahead, he remained as a leading member of the orchestra for the
rest of his days. In 1792 he died by strangulation, murdered in
circumstances that somehow involved the fighting then going in Hanover
on.
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