The Blanchet family were an extended family of
French harpsichord-makers from the late-17th century to the mid-19th century, by which time they had become
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
makers.
Family members
Nicolas Blanchet I (c.1660 - 1731) was born in
Reims and by 1686 was living in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, where he spent the rest of his life. He became a
master
Master or masters may refer to:
Ranks or titles
* Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans
*Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...
instrument-maker in 1689. There was an earlier instrument maker of the same name who worked in Paris in the early 17th century, but it is not known whether the two were related.
François-Étienne Blanchet I (c.1695 - 1761) was the second son of Nicolas Blanchet I and followed him in his craft, becoming a full partner in 1722. He lived his life in Paris, as did all his descendants. He married Elisabeth Gobin in 1727 and they had two children.
François Couperin owned a large harpsichord by Blanchet; instruments made by the Blanchet family were of a high quality, much in demand and sold for high prices. Like the
Goermans
The Goermans (or Germain) family were French harpsichord makers of Flemish origin.
Jean Germain I (or Joannes Goermans, as he signed his instruments) (1703 – 18 February 1777) was born in Geldern, Western Germany, and is known to have been work ...
family, the Blanchet family made many ''ravalements'' (that is, enlargements in range and other modern adaptations) of 17th-century
Flemish
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
instruments, especially those of the
Ruckers family. Ruckers harpsichords were highly prized in France at that time to such an extent that in some 'Ruckers' instruments only the soundboard was original, or nothing at all.
Elisabeth-Antoinette Blanchet (1729 - 1815) was François-Étienne Blanchet I's daughter and married
Armand-Louis Couperin in 1752.
François-Étienne Blanchet II (c.1730 - 1766) was François-Étienne Blanchet I's son and like him became a harpsichord maker, learning from his father.
Pascal Taskin became his apprentice and took over his workshop after his early death. The Blanchet family became associated with the
French court in the 1740s and became ''facteur des clavessins du
Roi'' (makers of the King's harpsichords) in the 1750s . They continued making harpsichords as late as the 1790s, while at the same time making
fortepiano
A fortepiano , sometimes referred to as a pianoforte, is an early piano. In principle, the word "fortepiano" can designate any piano dating from the invention of the instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1698 up to the early 19th century. Mo ...
s (
Claude-Bénigne Balbastre
Claude Balbastre (8 December 1724 – 9 May 1799) was a French composer, organist, harpsichordist and fortepianist. He was one of the most famous musicians of his time.
Life
Claude Balbastre was born in Dijon in 1724. Although his exact birthdat ...
owned one made in
1763
Events
January–March
* January 27 – The seat of colonial administration in the Viceroyalty of Brazil is moved from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro.
* February 1 – The Royal Colony of North Carolina officially creates Meck ...
).
Armand-François-Nicolas Blanchet (1763 - 1818) was the son of François-Étienne Blanchet II and brought up and trained by Pascal Taskin after his father's early death. He left an instructional textbook entitled ''Méthode abrégée pour accorder le clavecin et le piano'' (Paris, 1797–1800).
Nicolas Blanchet II was Armand-François-Nicolas Blanchet's son and took over the family business in
1818
Events
January–March
* January 1
** Battle of Koregaon: Troops of the British East India Company score a decisive victory over the Maratha Empire.
** Mary Shelley's ''Frankenstein'' is published anonymously in London.
* January 2 – ...
.
Johannes Roller, a German
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
maker, became a partner in the firm until his retirement in 1851. Their first
upright piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
was made in
1827
Events
January–March
* January 5 – The first regatta in Australia is held, taking place on Tasmania (called at the time ''Van Diemen's Land''), on the River Derwent at Hobart.
* January 15 – Furman University, founded in 1826, be ...
, and they led the production of high-quality uprights after designing an improved model in
1830. Nicolas’s son P. A. C. Blanchet succeeded to the family business in 1855.
See also
*
List of historical harpsichord makers
Sources
*
William Dowd: ''The Surviving Instruments of the Blanchet Workshop''; ''The Historical Harpsichord: a Monograph Series in Honor of
Frank Hubbard'' i, ed. Howard Schott (Stuyvesant, NY, 1984)
*William Dowd/John Koster: 'Blanchet', Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 2007-05-20), http://www.grovemusic.com/
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanchet
Harpsichord makers
Piano makers
French musical instrument makers