Johann Adolph Hasse (March 25, 1699 – December 23, 1783) was a German
Classical composer.
Education
Hasse was born at Bergedorf near Hamburg and received his
first musical education from his father. Being possessed of a fine tenor voice, he chose a theatrical career and joined the
operatic troupe conducted by Reinhard Keiser, in whose orchestra Handel had played the second violin some years before. Hasse's success led to an engagement at
the court theatre of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and it was there that, in 1723, he made his
debut as a composer with the opera Antigonus. The success of this first work induced the duke to send Hasse to Italy for
the completion of his studies, and in 1724 he went to Naples and placed himself under
Porpora, with whom, however, he seems to have disagreed both as a man and as an artist.
On the other hand he gained the friendship of Alessandro Scarlatti, to whom he owed
his first commission for a serenade for two voices, sung at a family celebration of a wealthy merchant by two of the greatest
singers of Italy, Farinelli and Signora Tesi.
Fame in Italy
This event established Hasse's fame; he soon became very popular, and his opera Sesostrato, written for the Royal Opera
at Naples in 1726, made his name known all over Italy. At Venice, where he went in 1727, he became acquainted with the celebrated
singer Faustina Bordoni, who became
the composer's wife in 1730. The two artists soon afterwards went to Dresden, in compliance with a brilliant offer made to them by the splendor-loving elector of
Saxony, Augustus II. There Hasse
remained for two years, after which he again journeyed to Italy and to London where he was
tempted by the aristocratic clique inimical to become the rival and antagonist of Handel. But this he modestly and wisely declined, remaining in London only long enough to
superintend the rehearsals for his opera Artaserse (first produced at Venice, 1730).
Dresden and Vienna
All this while Faustina had remained at Dresden, the declared favourite of the public and unfortunately also of the elector;
nor was her husband, who remained attached to her, allowed to see her except at long intervals. In 1739, after the death of
Augustus II, Hasse settled permanently at Dresden till 1763, when he and his wife retired from court service with considerable
pensions. But Hasse was still too young to rest on his laurels. He went with his family to Vienna, and added several operas to the great number of his works already in existence. His last work for the
stage was the opera Ruggiero (1771), written for the wedding of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este at Milan.
On the same occasion a work by Mozart, then fourteen years old, was
performed, and Hasse observed "this youngster will surpass us all." By desire of his wife Hasse settled at her birthplace of
Venice, and there he died.
Like other composers of the early to mid eighteenth century, Hasse used small orchestras consisting mainly of strings. In
dramatic fire also he was wanting, but he had a fund of gentle and genuine melody, and by this fact his enormous popularity
during his life must be accounted for. The two airs which Farinelli had to repeat every day for ten years to the melancholy king
of Spain, Philip V, were both from Hasse's works. Of Faustina Hasse it will be
sufficient to add that she was, according to the unanimous verdict of the critics (including Dr
Burney), one of the greatest singers of a time rich in vocal artists. The year of her death is not exactly known. Most
probably it shortly preceded that of her husband.
Compositions
His compositions include as many as 120 operas, besides oratorios, cantatas, masses, and almost every variety of instrumental
music. During the siege of Dresden by the Prussians in 1760, most of his manuscripts, collected
for a complete edition to be brought out at the expense of the elector, were burnt. Some of his works, amongst them an opera
Alcide al Bivio (1760), have been published, and the libraries of Vienna and Dresden possess the autographs of others.
Works
Opera
(with librettists given in parentheses)
- Antioco (Apostolo Zeno, Pietro Pariati; Braunschweig 1721)
- Tigrane (Francesco Silvani; Naples 1723)
- Sesostrate (Antonio Carasale; Naples 1726)
- Attalo, Re di Bitinia (Francesco Silvani; Naples 1728)
- Artaserse (Pietro Metastasio; Venice, Carnival
1730; London 1734 as pasticcio with arias by Nicola Porpora, Riccardo Broschi and Attilio Ariosti)
- Cleofide (Metastasio, revised by Michelangelo
Boccardi; Dresden 1731)
- Demetrio (Metastasio; Venice 1732)
- Siroe, Re di Persia (Metastasio; Bologna
1733)
- La clemenza di Tito (Metastasio; Pesaro 1735)
- Irene (Stefano Benedetto Pallavicino; Dresden 1738)
- Alfonso (Stefano Benedetto Pallavicino; Dresden 1738)
- Lucio Papirio (Zeno; Dresden 1742)
- Didone abbandonata (Metastasio; Dresden 1742)
- Antigono (Metastasio; Hubertusburg by Dresden 1743)
- Ipermestra (Metastasio; Vienna 1744)
- Semiramide riconosciuta (Metastasio; Venice 1744)
- Arminio (Claudio Pasquini; Dresden 1745)
- La Spartana generosa (Pasquini; Dresden 1747)
- Leucippo (Pasquini; Dresden 1747)
- Demofoonte (Metastasio; Dresden 1748)
- Attilio Regolo (Metastasio; Dresden 1750)
- Ciro riconosciuto (Metastasio; Dresden 1751)
- Adriano in Siria (Metastasio; Dresden 1752)
- Solimano (Giovanni Ambrogio Migliavacca; Dresden 1753)
- L'eroe cinese (Metastasio; Hubertusburg 1753)
- Il re pastore (Metastasio; Hubertusburg 1755)
- L'Olimpiade (Metastasio; Dresden 1756)
- Achille in Sciro (Metastasio; Naples 1759)
- Zenobia (Metastasio; Warsaw 1761)
- Il trionfo di Clelia (Metastasio; Vienna
1762)
- Romolo ed Ersilia (Metastasio; Innsbruck 1765)
- Piramo e Tisbe (Marco Coltellini; Vienna 1768)
- Il Ruggiero (Metastasio; Milan 1771)
Oratorios
- Il cantico de' tre fanciulli (Stefano Benedetto Pallavicino; Dresden 1734)
- I pellegrini al Sepolcro (Stefano Benedetto Pallavicino; Dresden 1742)
- La conversione di Sant' Agostino (Maria Antonia Walpurgis von Sachsen; Dresden 1750)
Church music
- Beatus vir
- Confitebor tibi, F-major
- Dixit Dominus, C-major
- Missa ultima in g (1783)
- Messe in d (1751)
- Miserere in d
- Miserere in F
- Miserere in c
- Regina coeli in D
- Salve Regina in A
- Salve Regina in F
- Te Deum (1751)
- Venite pastores. Motetto pastorale
References
 |
This article is largely based on the article in the out-of-copyright 11th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, which was produced in
1911. It should be brought up to date to reflect subsequent history or scholarship (including the
references, if any). When you have completed the review, replace this notice with a simple note on this article's talk page.
Thanks! |
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
