Jacob Herman Klein

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Jacob Herman Klein (baptized October 14, 1688 in Amsterdam ; buried March 6, 1748 in Amsterdam), also called Jacob Klein the Younger , was a Dutch composer .

Life

Jacob Herman Klein was born as the eldest son of Jacob Klein and Johanna van Geleijn. His father was a dance master at the theater in Amsterdam for many years. Jacob, de Jonge (= the younger), as he was called to distinguish himself from his father, married Susanna Spieringh in March 1710. The couple had a daughter Geertruij. Jacob died in 1748 and was buried on March 8th in the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam.

Jacob Klein, the younger, was also the second dance master for two years . His actual job seems to have been that of a businessman. So together with his father-in-law Willem Spieringh he founded a company for rubber trading. Therefore called himself "Amatore della Musica". Several musicians are known to his relatives: a sister of his father's was married to Philippus Hacquart, a viol player. His brother was Carolus Hacquart , a well-known composer. Hence one can assume that he received a good musical education. In any case, in the course of time he acquired an excellent cello technique, as he played his sonatas op. 4 himself together with the dedicatee, Joachim Rendorp.

Work and meaning

Jacob Klein the Younger is the first Dutch composer to compose for the violoncello . A series of cello sonatas that he published in groups of six have come down to us. The sonatas published in op. 4 are special. They are technically challenging and innovative:
we know this because he uses extremely extensive fingering and playing instructions. Frank Wakelkamp, ​​who has re-edited the sonatas, writes that in terms of scope this is “unparalleled in baroque music for all instruments in the violin family”. Klein does not use a notation based on a tablature system, as was more common in cello literature until then, because it was known from the gamba . He himself writes:

“For amateurs, the number 1. 2. 3. 4. has been placed over individual notes to indicate the first, second, third and fourth finger, and for the thumb a 0 to describe the movement of the hand, and below the above number U + 1D360, U + 1D361, U + 1D362 and U + 1D363e string. "

The use of these terms and Klein's extreme technical progress compared to earlier sonatas could well be related to the fact that he worked closely with Pietro Locatelli . He came to Amsterdam in 1729, gave violin lessons to amateurs and gave concerts for amateurs.

The detailed information makes it clear:

  • Klein uses fingerings that are not really playable with today's technology. This is because the left hand is stretched, which can easily lead to injuries. It is not clear at the moment what the reason for this is.
  • He uses the thumb attachment , a relatively new technique at the time, on all four strings. In this position he also uses the little finger of the left hand - unlike what is usually the case today.
  • In the frequently occurring double fingerings, he usually already uses the modern type of fingering, which is based on semitone steps for the finger spacing. So one has to assume that his technique was more variable than the cello schools of the time would suggest.
  • He uses position changes and even glissandi or portamenti under a legato slur, even in places where this could be avoided by a different fingering. This is particularly interesting as a correction to our traditional ideas. The prevailing opinion is that changes of position under a slur were avoided in the baroque period.

Works

  • op. 1: 18 sonatas (1716)
No. 1-6 for oboe and B. c. , not handed down
Nos. 7–12 for violin and B. c., Not preserved
No. 13-18 for violoncello and B. c. (Edition with facsimile by F. Wakelkamp)
  • op.2: 6 duets for 2 violoncellos (1719) (modern edition by G. Darmstadt)
  • op. 3: 6 sonatas for violoncello and B. c. (1740) (edition by F. Wakelkamp)
  • op. 4: 6 sonatas for violoncello and B. c. (1746) (edition with facsimile by F. Wakelkamp)

swell

  • Text by Frank Wakelkamp on the edition and on the recording of the Sonatas op 4
  • Johann Gottfried Walther : Musical Lexicon . Deer, Leipzig 1732, p. 342 ( digitized in the Google book search)
  • Rudolf A. Rasch:  Klein, Jacob. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
  • Rudolf Rasch: Jacob Klein “the Elder”, Dancing Master of the Amsterdam Theater in Corelli's Times. In: European Drama and Performance Studies 4/1 (2015), ISSN  2045-8541 , pp. 37-57 (Internet publication in preparation).
  • Rudolf Rasch: Booklet to a recording of the Scordatura Sonatas from Op. 1 and Op. 2

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ cf. Title page for the edition of the Sonatas op.4 from 1746
  2. ↑ cf. Title page and dedication text for the edition of the Sonatas op.4 from 1746
  3. ^ A b Text accompanying the edition and recording of the sonatas by Frank Wakelkamp
  4. ↑ Introduction to the edition of the Sonatas op. 4 from 1746; Translation by F. Wakelkamp
personal data
SURNAME Klein, Jacob Herman
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Little, Jacob the Younger
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch composer
DATE OF BIRTH baptized October 14, 1688
PLACE OF BIRTH Amsterdam
DATE OF DEATH buried March 6, 1748
Place of death Amsterdam