Carl August Hänsel
Quatuors originaux for 4 Horns, Op. 75
Carl August Hänsel was born in 1799 in Sayda, a town in the eastern Ore Mountains (Erzgebirge). From 1836 to 1867 he served as a cellist in the Saxon Court Orchestra in Dresden, holding the title of Royal Saxon Chamber Musician. Numerous compositions by Hänsel have survived; his works began appearing in print from 1831 onward. Most of these were arrangements of marches and dances, but even at this early stage they included works for his own instrument, such as the Divertissement for Violoncello obbligato and Pianoforte of June 1832.
In April 1859 his Opus 75, 7 Quatuors originaux pour 4 Cors chromatiques, was published by the Dresden music publisher Bauer. Hänsel may have been inspired to write this piece by his orchestral colleague and fellow Freemason, the horn player Carl Heinrich Hübler. In December 1860 the same publisher issued his Concertino for 2 Valve Horns with Pianoforte.
