Unico Wilhelm van Wassenaer

Unico Willem van Reichsgraf Wassenaer Obdam ( born November 2, 1692 in Delden, Overijssel, † November 6, 1766 in The Hague) was a Dutch nobleman, diplomat and composer of the late Baroque.

Life

The family history of the Van Wassenaer dates back to the 13th century. Unico Willem was born into a family of generals, admirals and diplomats. The son of James II Wassenaer Obdam studied at Leiden University, among other rights. After his father's death in 1714 he made ​​an extensive tour of Europe, where he visited probably Paris, Rome, Florence, Venice, Vienna and Prague.

In 1723 he married Dodonea Lucia van Goslinga, a Frisian aristocrat and daughter of Sicco van Goslinga, with whom he had three sons. He was a member of the Admiralty and served as a director of the Dutch East India Company, as well as Ambassador in Paris (1744 ) and Cologne ( 1746 ). From 1756 he was responsible in the Dutch branch of the German Order of Knights, where he rose to become Landkomtur the Bailiwick of Utrecht. Van Wassenaer was buried in the Jacobskerk in The Hague.

The composer

From van Wassenaer compositional work six Concerti Armonici have been handed down for String Orchestra. These were first published anonymously and therefore Carlo Ricciotti or Giovanni Battista Pergolesi were attributed. Only after 1979, when Albert Dunning works at Castle Twickel, a residence van Wassenaer, discovered they could unequivocally Wassenaer be assigned.

Other works

• Gebed voor de predicatie
• Motet Laudate dominum
• Motet Nunc dimittis
• Concerto for Flute and Strings
• 6 Concertos for 4, 5 and 7 instruments
• 3 Sonatas for Recorder and B.C.
• Sonata for Cello and B.C.
• Sonata for 2 violin and B.C.