Couchet

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Several members of the Flemish Couchet family were major manufacturers of harpsichords and virgins in Antwerp in their day . They maintained close contacts with the Ruckers family , the most famous harpsichord makers in Antwerp at the time.

Harpsichord by Jan Couchet, 1646, MIM Brussels

Johannes Couchet (also Jan Couchet ) (February 2, 1615 - March 30, 1655) was a grandson of Hans Ruckers. In 1626 he began his apprenticeship with his uncle Johannes Ruckers . After the death of his uncle, he achieved the title of master in 1642. There are five known instruments by Johannes Couchet, many of which have been restored. All were made around the year 1650. Three of his seven children also became harpsichord makers.

Petrus Johannes Couchet became a master harpsichord maker and a member of the Guild of St. Luke in 1655 or 1656.

Joseph Johannes Couchet became a member of the guild in 1666 or 1667. Of the instruments he built, only a single-manual harpsichord from 1671 still exists. It was converted by Pascal-Joseph Taskin in 1778 into a harpsichord with two manuals. There is another one-manual harpsichord from 1679 and a harpsichord with two manuals from 1680. The latter was also rebuilt by Taskin in 1781.

Maria Abraham Couchet became a member of the guild in 1666 or 1667.

Johannes Couchet's instruments are very similar to those of the Ruckers family. Some of the late instruments bearing the Johannes Ruckers signet are believed to have been made by Johannes Couchet. The members of the Couchet family further developed the instruments based on the models of the Ruckers family. They built harpsichords with two manuals and a range from FF to d '' '. These were equipped with two 8-foot registers or with two 8-foot and one 4-foot register instead of the 8 and 4-foot registers that were common at the time.

source

literature

  • J. Lambrechts-Douillez, eds .: De familie Couchet / The Couchet Family (Antwerp, 1986)
  • Grant O'Brien: Ruckers: a Harpsichord and Virginal Building Tradition ( Cambridge University Press , 1990)
  • Frank Hubbard : Three Centuries of Harpsichord Making ( Harvard University Press , 1965)
  • Donald H. Boalch: Makers of the Harpsichord and Clavichord 1440-1840 , Oxford University Press (1995)
  • R. Russell: The Harpsichord and Clavichord (London, 1959)