HASSE, JOHANN ADOLPH (1699-1783), German musical composer, was born at Bergedorf near Hamburg, on the 25th of March 1699, and received his first musical education from his father. Being possessed of a fine tenor voice, he chose the theatrical career, and joined the operatic troupe conducted by Reinhard Keiser, in whose orchestra Handel had played the second violin some years before. Hasse’s success led to an engagement at the court theatre of Brunswick, and it was there that, in 1723, he made his début as a composer with the opera Antigonus. The success of this first work induced the duke to send Hasse to Italy for the completion of his studies, and in 1724 he went to Naples and placed himself under Porpora, with whom, however, he seems to have disagreed both as a man and as an artist. On the other hand he gained the friendship of Alessandro Scarlatti, to whom he owed his first commission for a serenade for two voices, sung at a family celebration of a wealthy merchant by two of the greatest singers of Italy, Farinelli and Signora Tesi. This event established Hasse’s fame; he soon became very popular, and his opera Sesostrato, written for the Royal Opera at Naples in 1726, made his name known all over Italy. At Venice, where he went in 1727, he became acquainted with the celebrated singer Faustina Bordogni (born at Venice in 1700), who became the composer’s wife in 1730. The two artists soon afterwards went to Dresden, in compliance with a brilliant offer made to them by the splendour-loving elector of Saxony, Augustus II. There Hasse remained for two years, after which he again journeyed to Italy, and also in 1733 to London, in which latter city he was tempted by the aristocratic clique inimical to Handel to become the rival and antagonist of that great master. But this he modestly and wisely declined, remaining in London only long enough to superintend the rehearsals for his opera Artaserse (first produced at Venice, 1730). All this while Faustina had remained at Dresden, the declared favourite of the public and unfortunately also of the elector, nor was her husband, who remained attached to her, allowed to see her except at long intervals. In 1739, after the death of Augustus II., Hasse settled permanently at Dresden till 1763, when he and his wife retired from court service with considerable pensions. But Hasse was still too young to rest on his laurels. He went with his family to Vienna, and added several operas to the great number of his works already in existence. His last work for the stage was the opera Ruggiero (1771), written for the wedding of Archduke Ferdinand at Milan. On the same occasion a work by Mozart, then fourteen years old, was performed, and Hasse observed “this youngster will surpass us all.” By desire of his wife Hasse settled at her birthplace Venice, and there he died on the 23rd of December 1783. His compositions include as many as 120 operas, besides oratorios, cantatas, masses, and almost every variety of instrumental music. During the siege of Dresden by the Prussians in 1760, most of his manuscripts, collected for a complete edition to be brought out at the expense of the elector, were burnt. Some of his works, amongst them an opera Alcide al Bivio (1760), have been published, and the libraries of Vienna and Dresden possess the autographs of others. Hasse’s instrumentation is certainly not above the low level attained by the average musicians of his time, and his ensembles do not present any features of interest. In dramatic fire also he was wanting, but he had a fund of gentle and genuine melody, and by this fact his enormous popularity during his life must be accounted for. The two airs which Farinelli had to repeat every day for ten years to the melancholy king of Spain, Philip V., were both from Hasse’s works. Of Faustina Hasse it will be sufficient to add that she was, according to the unanimous verdict of the critics (including Dr Burney), one of the greatest singers of a time rich in vocal artists. The year of her death is not exactly known. Most probably it shortly preceded that of her husband.
HASSELQUIST, FREDERIK (1722-1752), Swedish traveller and naturalist, was born at Törnevalla, East Gothland, on the 3rd of January 1722. On account of the frequently expressed regrets of Linnaeus, under whom he studied at Upsala, at the lack of information regarding the natural history of Palestine, Hasselquist resolved to undertake a journey to that country, and a sufficient subscription having been obtained to defray expenses, he reached Smyrna towards the end of 1749. He visited parts of Asia Minor, Egypt, Cyprus and Palestine, making large natural history collections, but his constitution, naturally weak, gave way under the fatigues of travel, and he died near Smyrna on the 9th of February 1752 on his way home. His collections reached home in safety, and five years after his death his notes were published by Linnaeus under the title Resa till Heliga Landet förättad från år 1749 till 1752, which was translated into French and German in 1762 and into English in 1766.
HASSELT, ANDRÉ HENRI CONSTANT VAN (1806-1874), Belgian poet, was born at Maastricht, in Limburg, on the 5th of January 1806. He was educated in his native town, and at the university of Liége. In 1833 he left Maastricht, then blockaded by the Belgian forces, and made his way to Brussels, where he became a naturalized Belgian, and was attached to the Bibliothèque de Bourgogne. In 1843 be entered the education department, and eventually became an inspector of normal schools. His native language was Dutch, and as a French poet André van Hasselt had to overcome the difficulties of writing in a foreign language. He had published a Chant hellénique in honour of Canaris in the columns of La Sentinelle des Pays-Bas as early as 1826, and other poems followed. His first volume of verse, Primevères (1834), shows markedly the influence of Victor Hugo, which had been strengthened by a visit to Paris in 1830. His relations with Hugo became intimate in 1851-1852, when the poet was an exile in Brussels. In 1839 he became editor of the Renaissance, a paper founded to encourage the fine arts. His chief work, the epic of the Quatre Incarnations du Christ, was published in 1867. In the same volume were printed his Études rythmiques, a series of metrical experiments designed to show that the French language could be adapted to every kind of musical rhythm. With the same end in view he executed translations of many German songs, and wrote new French libretti for the best-known operas of Mozart, Weber and others. Hasselt died at Saint Josse ten Noode, a suburb of Brussels, on the 1st of December 1874.
A selection from his works (10 vols., Brussels, 1876-1877) was edited by MM. Charles Hen and Louis Alvin. He wrote many books for children, chiefly under the pseudonym of Alfred Avelines; and studies on historical and literary subjects. The books written in collaboration with Charles Hen are signed Charles André. A bibliography of his writings is appended to the notice by Louis Alvin in the Biographie nat. de Belgique, vol. vii. Van Hasselt’s fame has continued to increase since his death. A series of tributes to his memory are printed in the Poésies choisies (1901), edited by M. Georges Barral for the Collection des poètes français de l’étranger. This book contains a biographical and critical study by Jules Guillaume, and some valuable notes on the poet’s theories of rhythm.
HASSELT, the capital of the Belgian province of Limburg. Pop. (1904), 16,179. It derives its name from Hazel-bosch (hazel wood). It stands at the junction of several important roads and railways from Maaseyck, Maastricht and Liége. It has many breweries and distilleries, and the spirit known by its name, which is a coarse gin, has a certain reputation throughout Belgium. On the 6th of August 1831 the Dutch troops obtained here their chief success over the Belgian nationalists during the War of Independence. Hasselt is best known for its great septennial fête held on the day of Assumption, August 15th. The curious part of this fête, which is held in honour of the Virgin under the name of Virga Jesse, is the conversion of the town for the day into the semblance of a forest. Fir trees and branches from the neighbouring forest are collected and planted in front of the houses, so that for a few hours Hasselt has the appearance of being restored to its primitive condition as a wood. The figure of the giant who is supposed to have once held the Hazel-bosch under his terror is paraded on this occasion as the “lounge man.” Originally this celebration was held annually, but in the 18th century it was restricted to once in seven years. There was a celebration in 1905.
HASSENPFLUG, HANS DANIEL LUDWIG FRIEDRICH (1794-1862), German statesman, was born at Hanau in Hesse on the 26th of February 1794. He studied law at Göttingen, graduated in 1816, and took his seat as Assessor in the judicial chamber of the board of government (Regierungskollegium) at Cassel, of which his father Johann Hassenpflug was also a member. In 1821 he was nominated by the new elector, William II., Justizrat (councillor of justice); in 1832 he became Ministerialrat and reporter (Referent) to the ministry of Hesse-Cassel, and in May of the same year was appointed successively minister of justice and of the interior. It was from this moment that he became conspicuous in the constitutional struggles of Germany.