Schenck, Schenk, Johannes, Johann, Johan, Jan, *baptised 3 June 1660 Amsterdam, †after 1712, Dutch composer and gambist of German origin. It is possible that he studied with one of the English violist living in exile (Daniel Norcombe, Henry Butler or William Young). Around 1696, he became a chamber musician at the court of Elector Johann Wilhelm II, in Düsseldorf, and in 1710 he additionally took up the position of chamber councillor there. He may have remained in the Elector’s service until 1716. Despite this, he maintained constant contact with Amsterdam, where, with the help of the local patriciate, he published all his works. He was one of the most outstanding Dutch composers of the second half of the 17th century, and his playing on the viola da gamba was praised by contemporary poets and seasoned music enthusiasts.
The main focus of Schenck’s work is viola da gamba music. His compositions require virtuoso technique (especially Opp. 2, 6 and 9); and are also examples of the influence of various national styles: from the music of English violists (Op. 2), German (Op. 2) and Italian violinists (Opp. 6, 9) to French gambists (Op. 6). Among Schenck’s most sophisticated works are the sonatas from L’echo du Danube. The collection Le nymphe di Rheno for two violas da gamba does not place great technical demands on the performer – it probably served as a textbook for lessons given by Schenck to his pupil, Elector Johann Wilhelm II, to whom the work is dedicated. A unique position in Schenck’s oeuvre is occupied by Op. 7, where the soloist is a violinist, not a gambist; the violin chord technique of this piece reveals the influence of the German school (H.I.F. von Biber and J.J. Walther).
Schenck contributed to the development of music set to Dutch lyrics with his Op. 1, which included pieces from the opera Bacchus, Ceres en Venus with text by Govert Bidloo, and two collections of sacred and secular songs for 1–2 voices and basso continuo.
Literature: K.H. Pauls Der kurpfälzische Kammermusikus Johannes Schenck, “Die Musikforschung” XV, 1962 and XIX, 1966; S. Luttman The Music of Johannes Schenck. Some Observations, “Journal of the Viola Da Gamba Society of America” XVIII, 1981; P. Dirksen Johannes Schenck in: Het honderd componisten boek: Nederlandse muziek van Albicastro tot Zweers, eds. P.-U. Hiu, J. van der Klis, Hilversum 1997; L.P. Grijp Zonder Spys en Wyn, kan geen liefde zyn: De eerste Nederlandse opera die op de planken kwam, “Tijdschrift oude muziek” XXI, 2006; H. Reiners Auf der Suche nach Johann Schenck: Eine nachträgliche Reverenz zum 350. Geburtstag, “Jahrbuch des Staatlichen Instituts für Musikforschung Preußischer Kulturbesitz” XLIII, Berlin 2011; H. Reiners Ein Johannes Schenck wird leicht vermißt…: Nachforschungen zu Schenck in Düsseldorf in: Repertoire, Instrumente und Bauweise der Viola da gamba, eds. Ch. Philipsen, U. Omonsky, M. Lustig, Augsburg 2016.
