José Herrando (c.1720-1763)
- Sonata (en Sol mayor) III (1754)
Performers: Marianne Ronez (violon d'amour); Elisabeth Tascher (cello);
Ernst Kubіtschеk (hammerklavier)
Further info: José Herrando (c.1720-1763) - Violin Sonatas (1754)
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Spanish violinist and composer. His father was José de Herrando
(c.1700–c.1750), a composer and performer in musical comedies. Herrando
was the most important violinist in 18th-century Spain: he played for
the most prestigious musical institutions and wrote the only substantial
Spanish violin tutor of the time. He may have received musical training
from Giacomo Facco. He entered the service of the Real Convento de la
Encarnación in Madrid probably in the 1740s and became principal
violinist in 1756. Farinelli employed him as one of 16 violinists at the
Coliseo del Buen Retiro; he appears in its records for 1747 and 1758.
He was also selected for Farinelli's orchestra at Aranjuez. His high
reputation in these circles is born out by one of Jacopo Amiconi's
official royal portraits in which three musicians, Herrando, Farinelli
and Domenico Scarlatti, are depicted in a balcony overlooking the royal
family. A tapestry in La Granja depicts the same triumvirate appearing
in a window. Some of Herrando's compositions were written at Farinelli's
request, such as the six sonatinas for five-string violin. Herrando
also forged professional affiliations with the well-respected Geminiani
family. Miguel Geminiani (brother of Francesco) also played violin at
the Buen Retiro, and Herrando was his successor as principal violinist
at the royal chapel; Geminiani held the post until 1758, it then fell to
Francisco Manalt and eventually to Herrando in 1759, despite the fact
that his poor eyesight caused him to miss several notes during the
sight-reading exam. In the 1750s and early 1760s he worked with José de
Parra's company in the major theatres in Madrid.
He was closely associated with the dukes of Alba and Arcos the latter
being his patron and dueño. It has been suggested that Herrando possibly
went to Paris to oversee the printing of his violin treatise and
probably met Francesco Geminiani there. Geminiani used the engraving
from the beginning of Herrando's treatise (in which Herrando is seen
playing the violin) in the French translation of his own violin method
(Paris, 2/1762), substituting his own head for Herrando's. It may have
been Geminiani who brought Herrando's music to England, thus explaining
the publication of some of his sonatas in London. Herrando's Arte y
puntual explicación is a comprehensive compendium of advice on violin
technique and performing practice. His 28 violin exercises are roughly
analogous to Bach's Das Wohltemperirte Clavier in that Herrando wrote
one study in each of the major and minor keys. The set works
progressively through the sharp keys and then the flat keys, continuing,
unlike Bach's set, to the extremes of C major and A minor and C
major and A minor. The pieces become longer and technically more
demanding as the book progresses, and they run the gamut of techniques
and effects. In many ways they are worthy cousins to Corelli's op.5
sonatas. One of Herrando's most fascinating pieces is his sonata El
Jardín de Aranjuez en tiempo de primavera con diversos cantos de páxaros
y otros animales (‘The Aranjuez garden in springtime with the diverse
songs of birds and other animals’). It incorporates bird calls (e.g.
canary, cuckoo, quail and dove) and other natural sounds (e.g. a
murmuring brook and a tempest) reproduced on the violin.
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