Harpsichord after Vaudry 1681, double-manual


The original instrument is in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and can still be played today. Since no first name is mentioned in the signature, we unfortunately do not know which member of the harpsichord maker's family we are dealing with. However, there is some information about the history of this harpsichord. It belonged to the music-loving Duchess of Maine, daughter-in-law of Louis XIV, who was famous for her patronage of musicians and for her concert series at the Chateau de Sceaux outside Paris. After her banishment from court in 1718, she took the harpsichord with her to the Chateau de Savigny-les-Beaunes (near Dijon), where the lid was given its current setting with chinoiseries. This brought the instrument into line with the red and gold interior of the room in which it was placed.