Charles Jennens
Charles Jennens (* 1700 or 1701 probably in Gopsall , Leicestershire ; † November 20, 1773 there ) was an English landowner, patron and librettist .
Life
His grandfather ran several large iron factories and researched forests that supplied his smelters with firewood. Charles Jennens grew up on Gopsall Hall , which he kept as his main residence throughout his life. However, it was not he but his father who remained the master of the house until 1747, from which he occasionally suffered, as his correspondence shows.
He remained unmarried and was considered melancholy and extravagant. As a non-juror , he could not hold any public office and became an art sponsor and music lover. Georg Friedrich Handel's compositions suited his taste, and both became close friends. Handel often visited him in Gopsall and in 1749 designed a house organ for him . Jennens ordered a portrait of Handel from the painter Thomas Hudson .
plant
Jennens was best known for compiling the texts for Handel's oratorios Saul (1738), L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato (1740), Messiah (1741) and Belshazzar (1744). His authorship of the text from Israel in Egypt (1738) is not certain .
literature
- Ruth Smith: The achievements of Charles Jennens (1700-1773). In: Music & Letters 70.2 (1989), ISSN 0027-4224 , pp. 161-190 (relevant overview of the life and work of Charles Jennens).
- Tassilo Erhardt: Messiah in the context of the theological library of Charles Jennens. In: Göttinger Handel Contributions 11 (2006), ISSN 0177-7319 , pp. 219-234.
- Tassilo Erhardt: Handel's Messiah. Text, music, theology . Comes Verlag, Bad Reichenhall 2007, ISBN 978-3-88820-500-2 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Jennens, Charles |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English landowner, patron and librettist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1700 or 1701 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | unsure: Gopsall , Leicestershire |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 20, 1773 |
| Place of death | Gopsall , Leicestershire |