Johann Adolph Hass
German maker of clavichords, harpsichords and possibly organs
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Johann Adolph Rudolph Hass (baptised 12 March 1713, buried 29 May 1771), usually known as Johann Adolph Hass, was a German maker of clavichords, harpsichords and possibly organs. He was the son of Hieronymus Albrecht Hass, also a maker of keyboard instruments.
Johann Adolph Hass | |
|---|---|
 Clavichord, 1760, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg | |
| Baptised | 12 March 1713 |
| Died | buried 29 May 1771 |
| Other names |
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| Citizenship | Hamburg |
| Occupation | maker of keyboard instruments |
Life
Hass was born in the Imperial Free City of Hamburg, and was baptised on 12 March 1713. He became a citizen of the city on 28 October 1746, and was admitted to the chamber of commerce in the following year.[1]
There is no mention of either Hass before 1758, when Jakob Adlung mentioned a cembal d'amour made by "Hasse in Hamburg".[1] Both father and son are mentioned in the German translation of Charles Burney's The Present State of Music in Germany, the Netherlands, and United Provinces (1773): "Hasse, father and son, of Hamburg, both dead; their harpsichords and clavichords are much sought after".[2]: 238 Ernst Ludwig Gerber said much the same in his Historischbiographisches Lexicon of 1790.[2]: 238
Hass died in Hamburg and was buried on 29 May 1771. His business may have been continued by Johann Christoffer Krogmann, a builder of fortepianos who was married to Hass's daughter Margaretha Catharina.[1]
Instruments
Hass's instruments are known to be cleverly designed, strongly built, richly decorated and finely finished.[2]: 238
He built large clavichords of the kind that post-Baroque composers such as Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach wrote for, with good tone and volume, and capable of expressive bebung.[1]
Eight Hass harpsichords are known to survive. A massive instrument by Johann Adolph with two manuals and five sets of strings (16', 2 × 8', 4', 2'), with tortoiseshell natural keys and ivory-topped sharps, dates from 1760–1761, and is now in the Yale University Collection of Musical Instruments in New Haven, Connecticut.[3]: 312–313 A single-manual instrument from 1763, with two 8' and one 4' sets of strings, is in the Russell Collection in Edinburgh.[3]: 313–314 [4]