Ruckers

The Ruckers are the most famous family of factors of Clavecin S established with Antwerp in XVIe and XVIIe centuries. One associates with it also the name of Couchet .

The founder is Hans Ruckers , born with Malines about 1555 and established in Antwerp before 1575. This year, it Maria on June 25th with the Notre-Dame cathedral. it was allowed in 1579, as a factor of instruments, in the Guilde of Saint-Luc, from Antwerp corporation of the craftsmen of art and artists.

Hans Ruckers had among her children, two wire which were also factors:

Ioannes , born in 1578 and died in 1642, took again the business of his/her father after the death of his parents; it Maria in 1604 and was allowed at the Guild in 1611. It was responsible for the maintenance of the organ of several from Antwerp churches.
Andreas I , born in 1579 and died about 1652 installed its own workshop in the vicinity, after having started by working with his/her older brother.

One of wire of Andreas I, carrying the same first name ( Andreas II ) and born in 1607 succeeded to him after having been its apprentice. He was allowed at the Guild in 1637 and seems to have worked with his father until the death of this one. Itself died little of time after, about 1655. Their productions are quasi-indistinguishable.

Catharina, the sister of Ioannes and Andreas I, had a son, Ioannes Couchet , born into 1615 which became apprentice in his uncle Ioannes and worked with him until its death in 1642. It was then allowed at the Guild then Maria in 1643. Its reputation as a factor of harpsichord was perhaps even larger than that of Ruckers. It had several children who continued his activity but which is snuffed.

There remains more than 130 instruments of their production between 1580 and 1680, and those, which cover a large variety of forms, constitute the most significant unit and most representative of the Flemish school. It is there virginal S, Virginal S, Muselaar S, Clavecin S with simple or double keyboard (not couplables, but transposing instruments), and instruments rarer such as famous “the mother and child” made up of two distinct but superposable instruments to be played simultaneously.

The remarkable sonority of the harpsichords Ruckers and Couchet made some most required of their time. The largest instrumentalists had some, particularly in France. When the construction standards changed, the Parisian factors took the practice to transform them, in an operation known as of “Ravalement” in order to preserve the sounding boards considered as unsurpassable. So of many Ruckers finished their career in the shape of French harpsichords.

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