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Haiden (Heyden)

Baptized January 19, 1556, Nuremberg – buried October 2, 1613, Nuremberg, probably grave no. 635 in St. John's Cemetery, epitaph dated 1604, still extant. Son of Sebald Heyden. Married January 21, 1562, to Magdalena Kolb; they had seven sons and four daughters. Despite receiving music lessons from his father, he became a merchant and traded in copper. He also had an interest in mechanics, optics, and perspective. From 1582 to 1613, he was the aforementioned organist at St. Sebald's Church. From May 26, 1567, to March 24, 1571, he was organist at St. Sebald's, for one year of which he waived his salary in favor of the widow of his predecessor, Jörg Nöttelein. From 1574 to 1585, he was organist at St. Giles' Church. Around 1575, he invented the Nuremberg violin-shaped piano, or violin-clavichord, the first example of which was given to the Elector of Saxony. It was a grand piano whose strings were bowed with a horsehair band operated by pedals; the sound was released by pressing a key. In an improved version, sticky wheels were used for sound production, and the original gut strings were replaced with metal strings. For this version, Haiden received an imperial privilege from Rudolf II in 1601, which was renewed by Emperor Matthias in 1612. Haiden is said to have built and sold a total of 23 of these instruments. Attempts to build so-called bowed pianos or bowed grand pianos continued into the 19th century, and some experimentation with them has persisted into modern times. Haiden was a co-founder of the Krentzleins Society, a musical institution founded in 1568. His daughter Hester married Caspar Hassler in 1588. * `* `*`` Works: For a list, see MGG 5, 1324. Lit.: ADB; Michael Praetorius: Syntagma Musicum, Vol. 2, Wolfenbüttel 1619/20; Doppelmayr, 1730; Will, GL II, p. 49; Roth, 1802; Lütgendorff; Eitner, 1900; Alfred Kosel: Sebald Heyden, 1940, p. 54; KDM Nuremberg, 1977; Brockhaus-Riemann, 1978; Harrassowitz, 1987; City Lexicon 2000; Zahn, DI-N No. 2733. Thomas Röder (quoted from the Nuremberg Artists' Lexicon, edited by Manfred H. Grieb)Feedback geben