Johann Adolph Rudolph Hass (variants: Johan, Haas, Hasse, Hase, Hasch) (12 March 1713 – 29 May 1771) (dates of baptism and burial) was a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 clavichord

Clavichord

The clavichord is a European stringed keyboard instrument known from the late Medieval, through the Renaissance, Baroque and Classical eras. Historically, it was widely used as a practice instrument and as an aid to composition, not being loud enough for larger performances. The clavichord produces...

 and harpsichord

Harpsichord

A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...

 maker, the son of Hieronymus Albrecht Hass

Hieronymus Albrecht Hass

Hieronymus Albrecht Hass was a German harpsichord and clavichord maker. He was the father of Johann Adolph Hass, who also made harpsichords and clavichords.-Life:He received Hamburg citizenship on 2 October 1711, and was born and died there...

, who was also a clavier maker. He should not be confused with the German composer Johann Adolph Hasse

Johann Adolph Hasse

Johann Adolph Hasse was an 18th-century German composer, singer and teacher of music. Immensely popular in his time, Hasse was best known for his prolific operatic output, though he also composed a considerable quantity of sacred music...

.

He lived his life in Hamburg, and received his citizenship there on 28 October 1746. In 1747 he became a member of the city chamber of commerce

Chamber of commerce

A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...

. His daughter Margaretha Catharina married the instrument maker Johann Christoffer Krogmann (1748–1816), who may have succeeded to Hass's business; he built fortepiano

Fortepiano

Fortepiano designates the early version of the piano, from its invention by the Italian instrument maker Bartolomeo Cristofori around 1700 up to the early 19th century. It was the instrument for which Haydn, Mozart, and the early Beethoven wrote their piano music...

s in the English style.

The first mention of either he or his father as instrument makers was in 1758; 'Hasse in Hamburg' is described as the maker of a cembal d’amour by Adlung. Charles Burney

Charles Burney

Charles Burney FRS was an English music historian and father of authors Frances Burney and Sarah Burney.-Life and career:...

 included them in 1773 among well-known German organ builders; 'Hasse, father and son, both dead', he wrote, and added that 'their Flügel and Claviere are much sought after'.

His surviving instruments include one harpsichord and a number of clavichords, rarely fretted. These are generally large and brass

Brass

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...

-strung, with a compass of C to d or F' to f. He sometimes used 4' strings (an octave higher than the usual 8') for the bass. It was large instruments such as these that many late 18th-century German composers (such as C. P. E. Bach) had in mind when composing for the instrument, with good bebung

Bebung

Bebung is a type of vibrato executed on the clavichord.When a clavichord key is pressed, a small metal tangent strikes a string and remains in contact with it for as long as the key is held down...

ability and a bright tone.