Pascal Joseph Taskin (1723-1793) was a French harpsichord and piano maker. Born in Theux, near Liège, he lived most of his life in Paris. Events February 16 - Louis XV of France attains his majority Births February 24 - John Burgoyne, British general (d. ... 1793 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Harpsichord in the Flemish style A harpsichord is any of a family of European keyboard instruments, including the large instrument currently called a harpsichord, but also the smaller virginals, the muselar virginals and the spinet. ... A short grand piano, with the top up. ... Theux is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège. ... Liege or Liège has several meanings: A liege is the person or entity to which one has pledged allegiance. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ...

Biography

Pascal Taskin worked in the workshop of the Blanchet family in Paris, though little is known of his activity until the death of François Étienne Blanchet II in 1766, when he married his widow and joined the guild as a master instrument-maker, taking over the supervision of the Blanchet workshop. The Blanchet family were French harpsichord-makers from the late-17th century to the mid-19th century, by which time they had become piano makers. ... See also: 1765 in music, other events of 1766, 1767 in music, list of years in music. ... A guild is an association of craftspeople in a particular trade. ...

The continuity between the Blanchet and Taskin tradtions is indicated by the note Taskin attached to his new instruments:

Taskin inherited Blanchet's title of facteur des clavessins du Roi, and became keeper of the King’s instruments when Christophe Chiquelier retired in 1774. He set up a workshop in Versailles with his nephew Pascal Joseph Taskin II (1750-1829) in 1777 in order to carry out the latter role; his other nephews Henry Taskin and Lambert Taskin also worked for him, though little is known of them. Pascal Joseph II went on to work in the Blanchet workshop in 1763 and, like his uncle, married into the family in 1777 with his wedding to François Etienne Blanchet II's daughter. Pascal Taskin was succeeded after his death in 1793 by his former master's son, Armand François Nicolas Blanchet, who he had brought up himself. Louis XV of France (February 15, 1710 – May 10, 1774), the Beloved (French: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1715 until his death. ... Louis XVI, born Louis-Auguste de France (23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) ruled as King of France and Navarre from 1774 until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792. ... See also: 1773 in music, other events of 1774, 1775 in music, list of years in music. ... Versailles (pronounced in French), formerly de facto capital of the kingdom of France, is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and is still an important administrative and judicial center. ... Events March 2 - Small earthquake in London, England April 4 - Small earthquake in Warrington, England August 23 - Small earthquake in Spalding, England September 30 - Small earthquake in Northampton, England November 16 – Westminster Bridge officially opened Jonas Hanway is the first Englishman to use an umbrella James Gray reveals her sex... Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1829 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1777 (MDCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... See also: 1762 in music, other events of 1763, 1764 in music, list of years in music. ... See also: 1776 in music, other events of 1777, 1778 in music, list of years in music. ... See also: 1792 in music, other events of 1793, 1794 in music and the list of years in music. Events September 25 - The Chevalier de Saint-Georges, the black Mozart, loses his command and is imprisoned at Houdainville. ...

His harpsichords and pianos

Pascal Taskin built on and refined the already excellent Blanchet harpsichord-making tradition. He is credited with introducing genouillères (knee-levers) with which to control the stop combinations, and a new register of jacks using peau de buffle (soft buff leather) plectra, instead of the usual quill, in 1768. The Blanchet family were French harpsichord-makers from the late-17th century to the mid-19th century, by which time they had become piano makers. ... Harpsichord in the Flemish style A harpsichord is any of a family of European keyboard instruments, including the large instrument currently called a harpsichord, but also the smaller virginals, the muselar virginals and the spinet. ... For other uses, see Knee (disambiguation). ... Modern leather-working tools Leather is a material created through the tanning of hides and skins of animals, primarily cattlehide. ... A plectrum is a device for plucking or strumming a stringed instrument. ... A quill pen is made from a flight feather (preferably a primary) of a large bird, most often a goose. ... See also: 1767 in music, other events of 1768, 1769 in music, list of years in music. ...

He continued the common French practise, pursued successfully by Blanchet, of making ravalements of Ruckers and Couchet harpsichords, which involved rebuilding the 17th century Flemish instruments, which were highly valued for their sound quality, to suit the modern French tastes. Like other makers of the time, he resorted to selling 'Ruckers' harpsichords which had very few original parts, or none at all, such was the premium associated with the name by then; his last known instrument, a double dated 1788, has a rose signed "Andreas Ruckers" and a Flemish-style painted soundboard. Unlike other makers, his instruments were always of excellent quality, whether passed off as Ruckers or not. The Ruckers family was perhaps the most famous line of Flemish harpsichord makers, based in Antwerp in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. ... The Couchet family were Flemish harpsichord and virginal makers in Antwerp, closely associated with, and descendants of, the Ruckers family. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... Flanders (Dutch: ) has several main meanings: the social, cultural and linguistical, scientific and educational, economical and political community of the Flemings; generally called the Flemish community (others refer to this as the Flemish nation) which is, with over 6 million inhabitants, the majority of all Belgians; the constituent governing institution... See also: 1787 in music, other events of 1788, 1789 in music, list of years in music. ... This article is in need of attention. ...

He began to build fortepianos with Blanchet in the 1760s, probably originally modelled after those of Gottfried Silbermann, with a Bartolomeo Cristofori-type action. None of his early pianos survives; the earliest date from the late 1780s and have a very simple action without escapement, which he devised in order to reduce friction. These instruments have luxuriant veneering of the Louis XVI style. Another instrument he made was the Armandine, a large psaltery with gut strings resembling a harpsichord without a keyboard, in 1790 for Anne-Aimée Armand (1774–1846); a surviving example is in the Musée de la Musique, Paris. Taskin's workshop became more occupied with piano production and the importing of English square pianos in the 1770s and 1780s, but not to the detriment of harpsichords; his death inventory of 1793 shows an equal number of each instrument under construction. Fortepiano designates the early version of the piano, as it existed from its invention by Cristofori around 1700 up to the early 19th century. ... Events and Trends King George III ascends the British throne in 1760. ... Gottfried Silbermann (January 14, 1683-August 4, 1753) was an influential German constructor of keyboard instruments. ... Bartolomeo Cristofori di Francesco (May 4, 1655 - January 27, 1731) was an Italian maker of musical instruments, generally regarded as the inventor of the piano. ... Nothing much really happened in the 1780s only that Mary-Anne Tobin was hung in public for wearing a flase beard and voting. ... Friction is the force that opposes the relative motion or tendency toward such motion of two surfaces in contact. ... A veneer is a thin covering over something. ... Louis XVI Louis XVI (August 23, 1754 - January 21, 1793), was King of France and Navarre from 1774 until 1791, and then King of the French in 1791-1792. ... A psaltery is a stringed musical instrument of the harp or the zither family. ... Catgut is the name applied to cord of great toughness and tenacity prepared from the intestines of sheep/goat, or occasionally from those of the hog, horse, mule, and donkey. ... The musical keyboard, also known as the piano keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers on a musical instrument which produce notes. ... See also: 1789 in music, other events of 1790, 1791 in music, list of years in music. ... The square piano had horizontal strings arranged diagonally across the rectangular case above the hammers and with the keyboard set in the long side, it is variously attributed to Silbermann and Frederici and was improved by Petzold and Babcock. ... Events and Trends For more events, see 18th century United States Declaration of Independence ratified by the Continental Congress (July 4, 1776). ... Nothing much really happened in the 1780s only that Mary-Anne Tobin was hung in public for wearing a flase beard and voting. ... 1793 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

There are seven of his double manual harpsichords still in existence; they are prime examples of the late French school of harpsichord building, with a warm and rich tone, range of FF-f''', and disposition of 8' 8' 4' and buff stop. His 1769 double and the 1763/1783-1784 Goermans/Taskin (which Taskin tried to pass off as a Couchet) have both been praised as ideal instruments for the late French baroque repertoire such as the works of Rameau and Armand-Louis Couperin. These instruments have been studied and copied many times by modern makers. The Goermans (or Germain) family were French harpsichord makers of Flemish origin. ... The Couchet family were Flemish harpsichord and virginal makers in Antwerp, closely associated with, and descendants of, the Ruckers family. ... Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1600 and 1750 (see Dates of classical music eras for a discussion of the problems inherent in defining the beginning and end points). ... Jean-Philippe Rameau (September 25, 1683 - September 12, 1764) was one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the Baroque era. ... Armand-Louis Couperin (25 February 1727 - 2 February 1789) was a French composer, organist, and harpischordist of the late Baroque period. ...

Further reading

• John Koster: Two Early French Grand Pianos, Early Keyboard Journal, xii (1994)
• William Dowd: The Surviving Instruments of the Blanchet Workshop, The Historical Harpsichord: a Monograph Series in Honor of Frank Hubbard, i, ed. Howard Schott (Stuyvesant, NY, 1984)
• Donald H. Boalch: Makers of the Harpsichord and Clavichord 1440-1840 (Oxford University Press, ASIN: 019318429X; 3rd edition, 1995)
• Frank Hubbard: Three Centuries of Harpsichord Making (Harvard University Press, 1965)

William Richmond Dowd (born 28 February 1922) is an American harpsichord maker. ... Large five-octave unfretted clavichord by Paul Maurici, after J.A. Haas The clavichord is a European stringed keyboard instrument known from the late Medieval, through the Renaissance, Baroque and Classical eras. ... Oxford University Press (OUP) is a highly-respected publishing house and a department of the University of Oxford in England. ... Frank Twombly Hubbard (15 May 1920 - 25 February 1976) was an American harpsichord maker, a pioneer in the revival of historical methods of harpsichord building. ... The Harvard University Press is a publishing house, a division of Harvard University, that is highly respected in academic publishing. ...

References

• Edward Kottick: A History of the Harpsichord (Indiana University Press, 2003)
• William R. Dowd/John Koster: 'Taskin, Pascal (Joseph)', Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 2007-05-23), http://www.grovemusic.com/

Indiana University, founded in 1820, is a nine-campus university system in the state of Indiana. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the CE era. ... May 23 is the 143rd day of the year (144th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Double-manual harpsichord, Pascal Taskin. Paris, 1769 - in the Russell Collection, Edinburgh
• Double-manual harpsichord, Jean Goermans/Pascal Taskin. Paris, 1763/1783-1784 - in the Russell Collection, Edinburgh
• PASCAL THE RASCAL!! - information about how Taskin altered the Goermans to make it look like a Couchet