Already last century such instruments were made here in Antwerp, but now they' ve reached a very high degree of perfection and they're often decorated by us, painters.
I invited some of my best friends for supper tonight. They're members of a nice family building fabulous musical instruments, such as clavichords, harpsichords and spinets. Payed this visit: the two eldest brothers of that well-known Ruckers family, both about as old as I am: John and Andrew. John is a widower, Andrew came with his wife Catherine.
Already last century such instruments were made here in Antwerp, but now they' ve reached a very high degree of perfection and they're often decorated by us, painters.
The Ruckers and other Antwerp builders deliver their instruments also in foreign countries, such as France and England. A spinet now costs about thirty lb sterling if there's a painting on it, half that price without. John and Andrew told me that their nephew John Couchet, the son of one of their sisters, will soon obtain his mastership; they expect him to become a perfect, specialised craftsman too, building instruments of equal quality, the way they do and the way father Hans did.
By the way: supper was delicious and also very much appreciated by our guests; it was rabbit "� la flamande" prepared by our cook from Ghent in Flanders.
Note:
Two centuries long, from about 1550 till about 1750, Antwerp was the most important building-centre of these instruments. Also complete new types were created there. Intense export was going on to many countries, also to colonies. Not only the Ruckers family (four generations), also many other builders worked in Antwerp: 65 names are known, 27 of them in the 17th century. Andrew Ruckers probably made about 600 intruments (12 till 14 a year)!!
http://www.hubbard.qds.com/flemsng.htm leads you to an interesting site about other kinds of instruments made by the Ruckers' family...
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