Johann Christian Schickhardt (Ca.1682-1762). a Contribution to His Biography and a Catalogue of His Works

David Lasocki JOHANN CHRISTIAN SCHICKHARDT (ca. 1682-1762) A Contribution to his Biography and a Catalogue of his Works' The name of Johann Christian Schickhardt is known today almost solely to recorder players, and even to them is not well known. The circumstances of his life point to a journeyman composer and performer, not fortunate enough to gain a position at an important court or in an important city. He constantly moved from one minor court or city to another dedicating numerous compositions to one prince or duke after another in the hope of being employed, and eventually he settled in the Netherlands, which was important for music publishing but not in the vanguard of musical composition or performance at that time. Yet Schickhardt was able to publish at least thirty sets of six or twelve compositions with the celebrated Amsterdam publisher Estienne Roger and his successor Le Cane (six of the sets being thought worthy ofpirated publication by Walsh & Hare in London) in an era in which composers ofthe statureofCorelli published only six sets,Vivaldi thirteen andJ.S. Bach eight.2This remarkable achievement alone makes him worthy ofinvestiga- tion. Who, then, was Schickhardt?What were the circumstances of his life? W\Xhatcom- positions did he write and what were they like?How was he able to publish so many compositions? These are the questions I shall try to answer in this article. When I startedto researchSchickhardt's life, I discovered that the reference books con- tained only three major statements about him: that he was born in Braunschweig; that he lived in Hamburg; and that he later had connections with Leiden, in which town he died in 1762.Because ofmaterial furnished by Schickhardt himself(on the title pages and in the letters ofdedication of his compositions) I have been able to confirm these statements and to establish much more about the general outline of his life. Unfortunately, I have been unable to visit firsthand any archives or librariesin places where he worked or may have worked. For this reason, the biographical portion ofmy article must be considered only a first draft.I hope it will be found interesting and informative in itselfand that it can lead to further studies.On the other hand, because of the kind cooperation of the RWpertoireinter- nationaldes sources nmusicales I have been able to collect microfilms of all of Schickhardt's printed and manuscript works known by them to be extant. My catalogue of Schick- hardt's compositions is therefore in a relatively finished state. I would welcome com- ments, corrections and additions about anything in this article. A Contributionto hisBiography Johann Christian Schickhardt3 was born ca.I682 in or near Braunschweig [English: Brunswick 1His year of birth may be deduced from a document from the University of 28 Leidendated November i8, 1745,in which his age at thattime is given as 63.4The same document callshim <<Brunsvicensiso,i.e.from Braunschweig.Further connections of Schickhardtwith Braunschweigare the dedicationof his Opus 5 to SophiaAmalia, the secondwife of AugustWilhelm, the heir to the Dukedom of Braunschweig-Wolfen- bittel, andthe dedicationof his Opus 14to AugustWilhelm himselfand his thirdwife, ElisabethSophie Marie.5 In the letterofdedication to the Opus14, Schickhardt says that he acquiredwhat he knows of music throughtheir kindnesses and in their( illustriouspa- lace)>. The courtof Braunschweig-Wolfenbtittel,which hadalways been active musically, had become an importantmusical center with the opening of the opera house in Braunschweigin 1690 at the instigationof August Wilhelm'sfather, Anton Ulrich.6 From its inception,the orchestraof the operahouse includedoboists,7 and it is possible thatSchickhardt received his trainingon the oboe from one of theseplayers. The firstdocuments I havefound concerning Schickhardt's employment place him in the Netherlands.The linkfrom Braunschweigto the Netherlandscould have been Frie- drich of Hesse-Cassel(later Frederick I of Sweden).8That Friedrichwas known at the Braunschweigcourt is attested to by thededication to him oftwo operasperformed there in the Friedrichtook a in the Warof the Succession I69gos.9 largepart Spanish (1702-I713). From1702 onwards, he was the commanderof the Hessianauxiliaries partly in Nether- landsand partly in Englishservice, and in 1706 he becameGeneral of the Netherlandsca- valry.10In the letterof dedicationto a manuscriptorchestral suite dating from afterFrie- drichhad become the King of Sweden (1720),Schickhardt describes himself as (an old servant)>of his."1Since, as we shallsee below, Schickhardthad connectionswith other Netherlandsmilitary figures, it is likely thathe wasin Friedrich'sservice when the latter was commanding the Netherlandsforces. In this case, Friedrichmay have come to know Schickhardtin Braunschweigand taken him with him on hismilitary duties in the Netherlands.There seems to be no publishedinformation on Friedrich'smusical interests. His father,LandgrafCarl of Hesse-Cassel,however, played the violada gamba and had a capelleofsome note.12 Schickardt'sOpus I(1709) is dedicatedto ( MadameLa Princese (ThePrin- Douairibre, cess-1)owager). This lady was Henriette Amalia,13 born a princess ofAnhalt- Dessau,and the widow of Prince Hendrik CasimirII of Nassau-Diez, the Stadholder14of the Netherlandsprovinces of Friesland,Groningen and IDrenthe. Since she is called Regente , de Nassau)by Schickhardt,the letter ofdedication may havebeen written before August 14,1707, when herson,Johan Willem Frisobecame of age [at 20 ] andassumed the title of PrinceofNassau - I)iez.In the letter ofdedication Schickhardt Fora long time I have says:, desiredthe honor of producingnew piecesof music to servefor the diversionof Your Serene Highnessin her recreationhours.,,> He praisesthe ((delicacy)of her <(ear),and thanksher for the singularkindnesses she had favoredhim with. It is clearthat he had beenworking for herfor sometime, no doubtin Leeuwarden,the capital of theprovince of Friesland,the seatof the Nassau-Diezfamily in the Netherlands.'s Schickhardtwas alsoin the serviceof HenrietteAmalia's son,Johan Willem Friso.As 29 well as being the Princeof Nassau-Dliez,Friso held the more importanttitle of Prince of Orange(which had been willed to him byWillem III of Orange-laterWilliam III of England-who died without issuein 1702),16 andalso was the Stadholderof the prov- incesof Frieslandand Groningen. Schickhardt's Opus 2 (1709)is dedicatedto Friso.And in the letterof dedicationto FrederickI of Sweden which we have mentionedearlier, Schickhardtdescribes himself as ((anold servant... especiallyof His [Majesty's]Bless- ed Holy brother-in-law,the Princeofthe MostVenerable House ofOrange>. (Frederick was the brotherof MariaLouise of Hesse-Cassel,who marriedFriso on April26, 1709.) AlthoughFriso nominally lived in Leeuwarden,he spentmost of hisshort life fighting in the War of the SpanishSuccession, beginning in 1703as a volunteerin Marlborough's army,then from 1707as commander of the Netherlandsinfantry, fighting with distinc- tion in such battlesas Oudenarde(1708) and Malplaquet(1709). Schickhardtmay have workedfor Frisoin Leeuwarden- aswe haveseen, he did work therefor Friso'smother, HenrietteAmalia - but two piecesof evidencepoint to him having also accompanied Frisoon hismilitary campaigns. Firstly, Schickhardt's Opus 3 (17o9)is dedicated to ( Swier deTaminga,> [probably Tamines in whatwas then Spanish Netherlands (now Belgium)], LieutenantColonel of the #Regiment d'Ockinga>,probably one of the regimentsin the Anglo-Netherlandsservice. Secondly, Schickhardt's Opus 7 (1710)is dedicatedto o<Seig- neurTibere Pepin d'Iminga, de Wiardaa Goutum, andhis wife, ChristineGertruyd. &c., ((Iminga)>and ((Wiarda),are probablyEmines and Wierde nearNamur (and also near Tamines).In the letterof dedication,Schickhardt speaks of the creditthey havebeen ac- customedto do to ((ourlittle community, which feelsitself very considerablyobligated by the good receptions)they haveoften given it in theircastle, by the favourableatten- tion they havepaid to it in itsconcerts, and by the obliginghelp they give it ((withthe last degree of perfectionin its pieces He refersto the <<singularestime)) with [syimphioniesJ.,, which they honor his (feeble works of music,,,alludes to the knowledge that Tibere, andespecially his wife, haveof music,and hopes that the piecesbeing dedicatedto them canprocure them some pleasure in theirrecreation hours. From this information we may infer that Schickhardtand a group of musiciansin the employment of Frisoand the Netherlandsarmies stayed intermittentlywith Tibere during their campaigns.It is difficultto understandwhat else Schickhardtcould mean by #(ourlittle community [notrepetite societd]., Soon, circumstancesapparently made it impossiblefor Schickhardtto remainin the Netherlands.In 1709,Henriette Amalia moved from Leeuwardento Oraniensteinnear l)iez,17 and in 1711,her son,Johan Willem Friso,was drowned in a ferry boat on the Moerdyk,on hisway to The Hagueto meet with FriedrichI of Prussiaabout the disputed successionto the Orangetitle."' Schickhardt'sOpus 8(1710) is dedicated to FrederikIV ofDenmarkand Norway. Since thereis no letterof dedication,it is impossibleto saywhether Schickhardt was in Frede- rik'sservice or wasmerely soliciting employment. In either case, Schickhardt might have receiveda recommendationto Frederikfrom the latter'scousin, Friedrichof Hesse- Cassel.19 30 At some time between 171oand 1712, Schickhardt auditioned for ErnstLudwig, Land- grafof Hesse-Darmstadt.20

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