The Times & Music of Johann Adolf Hasse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Times & Music of Johann Adolf Hasse - Essay Example Hasse was fortunate to have achieved considerable fame in his own lifetime- a fate reserved for very few composers in classical music (Millner, 1974 & 1979). Johann Adolf Hasse (1699-1783) was born in Bergdorf, one of the largest boroughs in Germany. He came from a family of church singers, organists and musicians. It was natural that he was to follow in their footsteps. Hasse’s father belonged to a musical family, and his great-grandfather Peter Hasse had been employed as an organist in Lubeck where had gained some fame as a composer in his heyday (Degrada, 1975). Hasse’s father and brothers subsequently were given the position of organists at the local church. His father was the head of a local charity organization which facilitated Hasse study in Hamburg. Hasse began displaying great musical talent at the age of fifteen. In fact during the very next year, in 1721 Hasse was hired by the Hamburg Opera Company as a tenor on the recommendation of Johann Ulrich Konig, who was the private secretary and poet to the Saxon Court at Dresden. Konig subsequently recommended Hasse for a position in the opera of the Duke of Brunswick. Hasse sang the operas of Caldara, Conti and Schumann. In 1721 Hasse’s creative talents came to the fore when he composed and sang his very own first opera role, Antioco. In fact, it was Hasse who gave life to the title role while Schumann sang the part of Seleuco. At the time, Italy was a burgeoning point for singing and operatic talent. After travelling through Venice, Bologna, Florence and Rome, Hasse eventually decided to settle down in Naples for some time (Grove, 1992). While in Naples, he met both Nicolo Pompora and Alessandro Scarlatti and he studied under both of them by 1725.