Pierre Naust

Pierre Naust (* around 1660 ; † 1709 in Paris ) was a musical instrument maker in Paris.

Life

Pierre Naust, contemporary of Jean Jacques Rippert , like Jean de Hotteterre, probably came from La Couture in Normandy . Around 1692 he took over the workshop of Etienne Fremont (also from La Couture) in Paris, for whom he had probably worked before. Naust died in Paris in 1709 at the age of 50.

His workshop in Paris, however, was continued by his widow Barbe, who came from the famous Pelletin family of instrument makers, and from 1719 onwards, together with her son-in-law Delerablée, achieved a considerable reputation. It is an absolute rarity in the history of craftsmanship that she was mentioned as a woman in 1715 with the title “maître faiseur d'instruments de la maison du Roy”. Their workshop made woodwind instruments of very high quality, as evidenced by orders from European courts. So were z. B. 1719 and 1721 she delivered two transverse flutes to Elector Max Emanuel in Munich .

When Barbe Naust-Pelletin and finally the son-in-law died in 1734, the widowed daughter Thomas Lot married. As the Lot family continued to make flutes, the Naust tradition continued into the late 19th century. On the occasion of this marriage in 1734, a workshop inventory was drawn up by an “expert”, the equally well-known Parisian instrument maker Charles Bizey. This inventory throws an interesting light on the size of Madame Naust's workshop: two workbenches, three lathes, 211 drills , around 1,000 pounds of boxwood , 26 transverse flutes, nine recorders , ten flageolets , five bass recorders, three bassoons and an old model of a large bass Pomeranian .

The biographer Tula Giannini notes that in 1721 the 'Dame Naust' (!) Offered a flute with three interchangeable pieces ('corps de rechange'). This is the first reference to a four-part transverse flute design. Perhaps an invention of the Naust workshop, this design established itself throughout Europe, including very early on with Jacob Denner in Nuremberg .

literature

• Giannini, Tula D .: Great Flute Makers of France: The Lot and Godfroy Families, 1650-1900. Tony Bingham, London 1993, ISBN 0-946113-05-X .
• Waterhouse, William : The New Langwill Index: A Dictionary of Musical Wind-Instrument Makers and Inventors. Tony Bingham, London 1993, ISBN 0-946113-04-1 .
• Young, Phillip T .: 4900 Historical Woodwind Instruments. Tony Bingham, London 1993, ISBN 0-946113-03-3 .