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Antoine Vater (Hanover 1689 - Paris 1759) (also Anton Vater) was a notable harpsichord maker in Paris of German origin.
Images and description of a harpsichord at the Ringve Museum sometimes attributed to Vater
/ref> is unlikely to be by Vater.
Detailed photographs of the 1732 instrument, preserved in the music instrument museum in Paris
Some sepia-toned photographs of the 1737 instrument
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vater, Antoine Harpsichord makers French musical instrument makers German musical instrument makers
Antoine Vater (Hanover 1689 - Paris 1759) (also Anton Vater) was a notable harpsichord maker in Paris of German origin.
Biography
Vater was born to family of harpsichord and organ builders. While his older brother Christian Vater took over the family workshop in Hanover, Anton emigrated to Paris in 1715 to practice his family’s profession and gained a reputation as one of the finest harpsichord makers in the city, eventually becoming a Guardian of the Royal Harpsichords, charged with maintaining the large collection at Versailles. He had several apprentices, the most notable being another German émigré to Paris,Henri Hemsch
Jean-Henri Hemsch, in German Johann Heinrich Hemsch (alternate spelling: Johannes Heinrich Hembsch; 21 February 1700 – September 1769), was a French harpsichord maker of German origin.
Biography
Hemsch was born in Kastenholtz, near Cologne, an ...
. Vater was a friend of German composer Georg Philipp Telemann
Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hildesh ...
who stayed with Vater at his house in Paris during 1737 and 1738. A notice given in the Mercure de France of July 1759 states that Vater was withdrawing from his trade, and had a number of harpsichords for sale, including some by Ruckers.
Surviving instruments
Three instruments by Vater are known to survive today: one (dated 1732) is at theCité de la Musique
The Cité de la Musique ("City of Music"), also known as Philharmonie 2, is a group of institutions dedicated to music and situated in the Parc de la Villette, 19th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was designed with the nearby Conservatoire d ...
in Paris, another (dated 1737) is in a private collection in England, and a third (dated 1738) is in a private collection in Ireland. An instrument at the Ringve Museum
Ringve Museum is Norway's national museum for music and musical instruments, with collections from all over the world.
Background
Ringve Museum is located in the historic Ringve Farm in Trondheim. Ringve Farm was the childhood home of the Danish- ...
attributed to ''Ant. Watters'' /ref> is unlikely to be by Vater.
See also
*List of historical harpsichord makers
This page presents a graphical timelines, listing historical makers of the harpsichord and related instruments such as the virginal, spinet and clavicytherium. The makers are grouped according to which regional building tradition they belong.
Grap ...
Further reading
* Donald H. Boalch: ''Makers of the Harpsichord andClavichord
The clavichord is a stringed rectangular keyboard instrument that was used largely in the Late Middle Ages, through the Renaissance, Baroque and Classical eras.
Historically, it was mostly used as a practice instrument and as an aid to compositi ...
1440–1840'' (Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, ASIN: 019318429X; 3rd edition, 1995)
References
External links
Detailed photographs of the 1732 instrument, preserved in the music instrument museum in Paris
Some sepia-toned photographs of the 1737 instrument
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vater, Antoine Harpsichord makers French musical instrument makers German musical instrument makers