Hertel

Johann Wilhelm Hertel (1727-1799) was born into a musical family. Both his father and his grandfather were important musicians in their own right. Much influenced by the composers of the Berlin school (being a violinist and keyboard player, he was particularly impressed by C. P. E. Bach, Franz Benda and Johann Gottlieb Graun), Hertel became Kapellmeister to the court at Schwerin in 1754, and held the post until his death.

HER011 Serenata: Die ihr das Glück geniesset
Edited by Brian Clark.
In his teens, Hertel spent a couple of years at the court of Anhalt-Zerbst, where he studied violin with the Konzertmeister Hoeckh and composition with Kapellmeister Fasch. The connection was kept alive when the latter sent his younger son to Strelitz for keyboard lessons with Hertel, who continued to visit Zerbst throughout his life.
He wrote this serenata (an evening entertainment) for the birthday of Caroline von Hessen-Kassel in 1759. Six years earlier, she had married Friedrich August of Anhalt-Zerbst, seemingly not with the approval of his mother. History does not record whether or not the work was ever performed - legend has it that her mother-in-law (then living in enforced exile in Paris) sent a beautiful dress that was poisoned. In any event, Caroline collapsed while dancing in it and died 12 days later.
The work is scored for SATB, 2 trumpets and timpani, 2 horns, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, strings and continuo (including bassoon).
Click here to see the first page.

The Brussels Conservatory Library has one of the largest collections of Hertel's manuscripts and among them is a set of six fine keyboard sonatas. They are probably the six he listed in a catalogue of his own works as "six sonatas prepared for publication". Each is in three movements (in the fast-slow-fast pattern) and are of moderate difficulty.

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