Denis (harpsichord makers)

The oldest extant instrument by a member of the Denis family, dated 1648 by Jean Denis II, the family's most prominent member.
The red chalk signature of Louis Denis on the underside of the soundboard of the 1658 harpsichord. Picture by instrument's restorer, Reinhard von Nagel
The title page of the second edition of Jean Denis' II treatise, published in 1650

The Denis family were French harpsichord makers from the mid 16th century to the beginning of the 18th century, by which time the Blanchet family had superseded them as the main harpsichord building dynasty in Paris. Members of the Denis family headed the instrument makers' guild for several generations, but only four harpsichords by members of the family have survived to modern times, and three spinets.[1] Several of the Denis instruments are signed in red chalk under the sound board with the makers name, place of construction and date, along with three five-pointed stars.[2] Instruments by the Denis family were held in high regard well after their time, as witnessed by an entry in the Encyclopédie Methodique from 1785: "The best makers of ordinary harpsichords have been the Ruckers in Antwerp... and Jean Denis of Paris".[3]

  1. ^ A History of the Harpsichord, Kottick, E.L., 2003, Indiana University Press, pages 168-171
  2. ^ Webarticle by François Badoud, published on the website of the harpsichordist Paola Erdas, [1] Archived 2011-09-01 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ A History of the Harpsichord, Kottick, E.L., 2003, Indiana University Press, page 167