Jacob van Eyck

Jonkheer Jacob van Eyck ( 1590 – 26 March 1657) was a Dutch nobleman and musician. He was one of the best-known musicians of the Dutch Golden Age, working as a carillonist and carillon technician, an organist, a recorder virtuoso, and a composer. He was an expert in bell casting and tuning, and taught Pieter and François Hemony how to tune a carillon. is credited with developing the modern carillon together with the brothers in 1644, when they cast the first tuned carillon in Zutphen, Netherlands. He is also known for his collection of 143 melodies for recorder, "Der Fluyten Lust-hof", the largest work for a solo wind instrument in European history.
Biography.
 was born in 1589 or 1590 into a noble family probably in the small town of Heusden. Born blind, he lived with his mother and father well into adulthood. became involved as a player and technician of village's carillon by 1619. He met with several craftsmen and the city organist to discuss changes and improvements to the carillon, which he carried out in 1620 and 1621.
 quickly established himself as a renowned carillonist and carillon technician. In 1623 and 1624, he was employed by the city of Utrecht to repair and renovate the Dom Tower's clock and carillon. A year later, after negotiations with the city, he left home to become the city carillonist. Over the years, he undertook projects to expand and improve the bell towers at the city hall, the Nicolaaskerk, Sint Janskerk and the Jacobikerk. His title was changed to "Director of the Bell-Works" in 1628, and he was entrusted with the technical supervision of all the bells of the city. He began instructing students to learn to play the carillon. In 1631, he had a small keyboard composed of 30 small bells constructed for instruction. A year later, he was appointed the carillonist of Sint Janskerk. Later in 1645, he accepted the same position at the Jacobikerk and the city hall.
 belonged to a circle of academics who met and corresponded regularly to exchange ideas. One of these was Marin Mersenne, who was the first to codify the harmonics of a vibrating spring. applied Mersenne's research to the acoustics of tuned bells. He devised methods for isolating the partials of a bell by whistling at the partials' resonant frequencies. showcased his discovery to mathematician René Descartes, who on 23 August 1638, wrote to Mersenne: "In Utrecht lives a blind man with a great musical reputation, who regularly plays bells (...). I have seen how he elicits 5 or 6 different sounds on each of the largest bells, without touching them, but only by coming close to their sound rim with his mouth..." In 1633, told Isaac Beeckman that the ideal series of a bell's partials consisted of three notes each an octave apart, supplemented by a minor third and perfect fifth in the second octave, and he convinced Beeckman to write about it in his journal on 24 September. The minor overtone series causes the characters melancholy sound of a well-tuned carillon.
Not only could they could be isolated, but asserted that they could be tuned harmoniously with each other by altering the shape of the bell itself. He claimed that it is not possible for a bell to be properly tuned upon casting, but instead that adjustments needed to be made to tune it. His assertion was put to the test in 1644. The city of Zutphen commissioned the famous bellfounding duo Pieter and François Hemony to cast a new carillon for its Wijnhuis tower. The city appointed as their consultant. He convinced the Hemony brothers to tune their carillon bells according to his research before finishing the job, rather than waiting for a negative review from the city. To achieve this, François cast the carillon bells slightly too thick so that they could be shaved down while tuning. Where other bellfounders haphazardly shaved the inside of a bell in an attempt to fix its tune, François placed them on a lathe rotated by five or six men to guarantee symmetry. He then shaved down the insides with a chisel to tune the five principal tones. Hemony carillons outfitted with "pure" tuned bells quickly became the standard and were coveted across Europe for decades. 's acquaintance with the intellectuals of the time along with his longstanding relationship with bellfounders helps explain how he was able to influence the Hemony brothers.
In addition to his work as a carillonist and technician, was a particularly skillful recorder player. In 1644 in Antwerp, Paulus Matthysz published 's "Euterpe oft Speel-goddinneI", a collection of variations on popular folk songs at the time for recorder. It was later renamed to "Der Fluyten Lust-hofI". A subsequent volume ("Der Fluyten Lust-hofII") was published in 1946 and a revised and greatly enlarged version of first volume was published in 1649. Probably in response to the success of the works, Sint Janskerk increased the salary paid to provided that he entertain passers-by with songs on his recorder. A second version "Der Fluyten Lust-hofII" was published in 1657 and a third and final version of "Der Fluyten Lust-hofI" was published 1656.
The final years of 's life were spent in declining health. He died on 26 March 1657 in Utrecht. His assistant and caretaker Johan Dicx was the principal legatee of his will and succeeded him in most of his carillonist positions. He was buried the next day, and for three hours, the bells of Sint Janskerk, the Jacobikerk, and the Dom Tower were tolled in his memory. Lambertus Sanderus composed a four-line verse that is inscribed on 's gravestone. In 2006, the mayor of Utrecht unveiled an inlaid memorial tablet in the Dom Square, at an angle to Dom Tower. The Utrecht Bellringers Guild awards the Jacob van Eyck Prize every three years to fund the preservation of Dutch cultural and historical heritage and campanological research.
Works.
's sole published work, "Der Fluyten Lust-hof", is an extensive collection 143 melodies, each with a number of diminutions or variations for solo soprano recorder. The themes include folk songs, dance tunes, church works, psalms, and songs of the day, as well as a few original compositions by . Some of the best known include a variation on John Dowland's "Flow, my tears" and a favorite Christmas carol at the time, "Een kindiken is ons gebooren" ("Unto Us Is Born a Son"). Some of the variations are considered challenging even for an experienced recorder player. "Der Fluyten Lust-hof" remains the largest work for a solo wind instrument in European history; it is also the only work of this magnitude to have been dictated rather than written down by the composer.