Jacob van Eyck

Jacob van Eyck was born around 1590 and died in 1657 in Utrecht; the Dutch musician, blind from birth, was a carillonneur, recorder player and bell expert. In 1625 he became carillonneur of Utrecht Cathedral and later also took charge of the carillons of the Janskerk, the Jacobikerk and the town hall. As a recorder player he played variations on well-known melodies; they appeared between 1644 and 1657 with the Amsterdam printer Paulus Matthijsz under the title “Der Fluyten Lust-hof”. As director of the clockworks he carried out research into the sound, casting and tuning of bells and worked with the Hemony brothers on the development of the tuned carillon.