Dedication to Mattheus Lestevenon from Sonatas Op. 1 (1744) Netherlands Music Institute, the Hague
Dedication to Mattheus Lestevenon from Sonatas Op. 1 (1744) Netherlands Music Institute, The Hague Furor Musicus at the Lutherse Kerk, Hilversum (© Christiaan de Roo) 2 3 PIETER (PETRUS, PIETRO, PETER) HELLENDAAL ROTTERDAM 1721 - CAMBRIDGE 1799 Pieter Hellendaal was born in Rotterdam in 1721. While little is known about his family’s circumstances and background, tax records indicate that the family was not particularly well off. His father, Johan Hellendaal, was registered as being a pastry baker, but he changed his profession to candlemaker when the family moved to Utrecht in 1731, where it was registered under the name of Hellendael. UTRECHT, 1731 -1737 In 1732, at the tender age of ten, Pieter was appointed as organist of the Nicolaïkerk in Utrecht, on condition that his father Johan would assist him. While this suggests that his father was also a musician and may even have been Pieter’s teacher, there is no actual historical evidence to support this surmise. The churchwardens’ resolu- tions include instructions dating from 1732, presumably specially drafted for young Pieter. Besides giving a precise description of the organist’s duties, they also include instructions for the use of the church’s Gerritsz organ. For instance, the smaller the congregation, the fewer stops he was required to use. Despite his youth, Pieter earned the same salary as his predecessor. Nicolaïkerk in Utrecht (drawing Pierre van Liender, 1756) Het Utrechts Archief collection, catalogue number 37465 4 5 His father Johan Hellendaal apparently knew a lot about organs, as he carried is evident from the first edition of the sonatas for violin and continuo opus 1 and out some repair work to the organ in 1732.
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