Hesse, Ernst Christian

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Hesse, Ernst Christian

Hesse, Ernst Christian, German viola da gam-bist and composer, father of Ludwig Christian Hesse; b. Grossgottern, April 14, 1676; d. Darmstadt, May 16, 1762. He learned to play the viola da gamba in his youth. In 1692 he entered the service of the Giessen court, and also studied law at the Univ. of Giessen. In 1694 he went to the Darmstadt court, where he pursued music training with W. C. Briegel. After further studies wiht A. Forqueray and M. Marais in Paris (1698–1701), he returned to Darmstadt as a court musician and as secretary for war; he also toured widely as a virtuoso in Europe. From 1707 to 1714 he was Kapelldirektor in Darmstadt, and continued to serve the court thereafter in non-musical capacities; he also continued making concert tours. In 1713 he married Johanna Döbricht. His extant works comprise the Italian opera, La fedeltà coronata (c. 1712), a divertimento, Apollo in tempe, a Flute Sonata, and a duo for Viola da Gamba.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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