[27] Geschichte der Musik, vol. iv, p. 438.
[28] The records of the city of Halle, from the year 1620 on, do not contain the name Froberger. It is thus useless to entertain the date 1635, given by some historians.
[29] At first he received twenty-five florins a month. Later his salary was raised to sixty florins, in addition to gratuities and money for clothing, beginning at twenty florins per year.
Two organists were usually in service.
[30] He was the father of the astronomer, Christian Huygens. Himself a composer, he was much interested in music. Curious facts concerning musicians of his time will be found in the work of W. Jonckenbloet and Land: Correspondance et œuvres musicales de Constantin Huygens, Leyden, 1882.
[31] "des pieces que un nommé Mons. Froberger ma donnez, et qui est un homme tres rare sur les Espinettes."
[32] This manuscript, carefully and finely written and embellished with pen-designs, is divided into four volumes, splendidly bound; they are preserved in the library of the Hofburg (the palace of the Emperor of Austria) in Vienna. A large number of the pieces are autographs; Froberger distinguishes these by the words Manu propria.
[33] Ferdinand III. was a musician; still extant are an aria of his composition with thirty-six variations, published by Ebner (Gerber), and some litanies in Kircher's Musurgia.
[34] It is worthy of notice that, save for the few months which preceded his journey to Rome, Froberger appears and departs, alternately, every four years; with the exception of the leave he obtained from 1645 to 1653—undoubtedly one of four years which he had renewed in 1649. The fulfilment of the duties of the position was assumed by rotation among several organists; like the custom established at the court of Louis XIV., where the four titular organists succeeded each other every three months, or every "quarter."
[35] "Allemande de M. Froberger, fait à Paris." It is No. 12 of the manuscript in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Vol. 7, 1862. This volume is ornamented with the arms of Bassyn d'Angervilliers and of N. Mothefelon. The title upon the binding reads: Préludes de M. Couperin. Besides these preludes and the Froberger pieces are contained works of Frescobaldi, Labarre, and Richard de Saint-Jacques.