Johann Adolph Hass

Johann Adolph Hass (baptized March 12, 1713 in Hamburg ; buried May 29, 1779 there ) was a German harpsichord and clavichord maker .

Life

Johann Adolph Hass is the son of the keyboard instrument maker Hieronymus Albrecht Hass , who also built harpsichords and clavichords. His father Hieronymus Albrecht Hass is listed on his birth certificate as an instrument maker and clavirmaker . On October 28, 1746, Johann Adolph Hass was granted citizenship in Hamburg . On October 12, 1747 he became a member of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce . His seventh child, Margaretha Catharina, married the instrument maker Johann Christoffer Krogmann (1748–1816), who worked as a builder of pianos in his workshop and took it over after his death.

Instruments

Fretless clavichord by Johann Adolph Hass from 1760 in the Museum of Art and Industry Hamburg

Johann Adolph Hass built large clavichords that were richly decorated and finely crafted. Post- baroque composers such as Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach described them as having a good tone and volume as well as expressive animation .

Eight harpsichords by Johann Adolph Hass have survived to this day. A harpsichord dated 1760–1761 can be found in the musical instrument collection of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut . Another instrument from 1764 is in the Russell Collection in Edinburgh .

Web links

• Donald Howard Boalch, Peter Williams, Alexander Pilipczuk:  Hatred. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
• Description and picture of a fretless clavichord by Johann Adolph Hass (1760) in the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg