The Couchet family were

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; ...

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...

and

virginal The virginals (or virginal) is a keyboard instrument of the harpsichord family. It was popular in Europe during the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. Description A virginal is a smaller and simpler rectangular or polygonal form of ha ...

makers in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, closely associated with, and descendants of, the

Ruckers The Ruckers family (variants: Ruckaert, Ruckaerts, Rucqueer, Rueckers, Ruekaerts, Ruijkers, Rukkers, Rycardt) were harpsichord and virginal makers from the Southern Netherlands based in Antwerp in the 16th and 17th century. Their influence stretch ...

family.

Joannes Couchet (or Jan Couchet) (2 February 1615 – 30 March 1655) was a grandson of Hans Ruckers. He became the

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

of his uncle Joannes Ruckers in 1626 and became a master after the latter's death in 1642. There are five instruments known to be by Joannes Couchet still in existence, most of which have had ''ravalements'', all dating from around 1650. Three of his seven children became harpsichord makers: Petrus Joannes Couchet became a master harpsichord maker and member of the

Guild of St Luke The Guild of Saint Luke was the most common name for a city guild for painters and other artists in early modern Europe, especially in the Low Countries. They were named in honor of the Evangelist Luke, the patron saint of artists, who was identi ...

in 1655 or 1656; Joseph Joannes Couchet became a member in 1666 or 1667. His instruments in existence today are a single manual harpsichord dated 1671 (possibly by Petrus Joannes), given a ''ravalement'' and made into a double manual by

Pascal Taskin Pascal-Joseph Taskin (27 July 1723 – 9 February 1793) was a Belgium-born French harpsichord and piano maker. Biography Pascal Taskin, born in Theux near Liège, but worked in Paris for most of his life. Upon his arrival in Paris, he apprentice ...

in 1778; a single manual harpsichord dated 1679; and a double manual harpsichord dated 1680 and again given a ''grand ravalement'' by Taskin in 1781; a similar unsigned instrument likewise worked on by Taskin may also have been his. Maria Abraham Couchet likewise became a member of the guild in 1666 or 1667. Joannes Couchet's instruments are virtually identical to those of the

family; some later instruments signed by Joannes Ruckers were probably made by Joannes Couchet during his apprenticeship. The Couchet family went on to make further innovations to the models established by Ruckers, building a double manual harpsichord with extended range of FF to d, and sometimes introducing registrations of 8' 8' or 8' 8' 4' instead of the then-usual 8' 4'. Joseph Joannes Couchet made a harpsichord (1679) with two sets of jacks for one 8' set of

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

References

*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 Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

, 1990) *

Frank Hubbard Frank Twombly Hubbard (May 15, 1920 – February 25, 1976) was an American harpsichord maker, a pioneer in the revival of historical methods of harpsichord building. Student days Born in New York, Hubbard studied English literature at Ha ...

: ''Three Centuries of Harpsichord Making'' (

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...

, 1965) *Donald H. Boalch: ''Makers of the Harpsichord and Clavichord 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) *R. Russell: ''The Harpsichord and Clavichord'' (London, 1959) *G. Grant O'Brien: 'Couchet', Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 2007-05-22), http://www.grovemusic.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Couchet Belgian musical instrument makers Harpsichord makers