Herrando José, Joseph, *ca. 1700, †1765 Madrid (?), Spanish violinist and composer. He may have been a pupil of A. Corelli. He was active in Madrid in aristocratic circles (including, from 1732 to around 1762, at the court of Francisco Ponce de León, the Duke of Arcos), and was also associated with the theatre as an instrumentalist and composer; from 1756 he served as first violinist of the royal orchestra at the monastery of Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación in Madrid.
Many of Herrand’s works have been lost, and those that survive have not yet been subject to scholarly analysis. Herrando’s output is significant, though modest in quantity; it comprises 3 duets, 12 violin sonatas and 6 sonatinas for 5-string violin (dedicated to the eminent singer Farinelli), preserved in manuscripts (Madrid, Bologna). Herrando is also the author of several works published in the collection Eighteen New Spanish Minuets, London 1760. Herrando’s treatise Arte y puntual explicación del modo de tocar el violín (Paris 1756) was the first comprehensive treatise on violin technique written in Spanish. Herrando also composed zarzuelas and other dramatic works (manuscripts, Madrid).
Literature: M. Jasinski A Translation and Commentary on J. Herrando’s “Arte y puntual Explicación”, Brigham 1974 (thesis).
Dix pièces de J. Herrando, ed. J. Nin, «Classiques Espagnols du Violon» I, Paris 1937
