Couchet, Johannes (EN)

Couchet Johannes, *2 February 1615 Antwerp, †30 March 1655 Antwerp, Flemish harpsichord maker. He was the grandson of Hans Ruckers, and trained and worked with his uncle Joannes Ruckers. After the latter’s death (1642) he ran his own workshop in Antwerp. Among his instruments were a two-manual harpsichord with an extended keyboard range and a harpsichord with an unusual double unison register. Couchet’s sons: Petrus Joannes (member of the guild from 1655 or 1656), Joseph Joannes (guild member from 1666), and Maria Abraham (guild member from 1667) were also harpsichord makers. Couchet’s instruments essentially continued the structural, decorative, and tonal model of the Ruckers family. Within this framework, Couchet and his sons introduced modifications in line with contemporary developments in harpsichord building. Surviving instruments by Couchet are held, among others, in the Russell Collection in Edinburgh, the Musical Instruments Museum in Brussels, the Vleeshuis Museum in Antwerp, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.