Jacob van Eyck

Jonkheer Jacob van Eyck (* 1590, † March 26, 1657 in Utrecht ) was a Dutch bell ringer, expert for bells and flute virtuoso. Van Eyck was one of the most famous musicians of his time.

Life and work

Van Eyck was blind from birth. In 1625 he left home and became carillon of the Utrecht Domturmes. Later, he had similar appointments in other churches of Utrecht and the Utrecht City Hall. 1649 his salary was increased under the condition that he would gladden the walkers in the churchyard with the sound of his Flötleins.

As bells expert, he had an excellent reputation with the authorities of various Dutch cities. René Descartes boasted his keen hearing, and bell players attracted to him to Utrecht to study with him.

As a recorder player, he is known Fluyten The Lust- hof by his work, which appeared in various versions and parts in the years 1644, 1646, 1649 and 1654. It is an extensive collection of solo pieces for soprano recorder ( one but has Continuospuren found, has released the the publishing house " les cahiers du Tourdion " ), almost all follow a common variation scheme: A first pre- rendered in a simple version melodic piece, about a folk song, a hymn or a psalm is dissolved in several steps into smaller, faster note values. The finale is a virtuoso version. Most of the pieces in Fluyten Lust- hof have the suffix: gebroocken vam J. Jacob van Eyck.