The fashion for Flemish harpsichords in France: a new appreciation

International audienceThe long-standing fashion in Paris for instruments made in Antwerp is already well known through many texts, archival documents, and the examination of a large numbers of instruments. Here new documents are presented concerning Flemish instruments in the hands of French musicians and patrons (Marie-Françoise Certain, Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, Pierre Crozat). Ruckers instruments sold in Paris sales during the eighteenth century are revisited and Flemish instruments in the Conservatoire in Paris (1793-1822) are studied from the point of view of heritage, conservation and pedagogy