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The Ruckers family (variants: Ruckaert, Ruckaerts, Rucqueer, Rueckers, Ruekaerts, Ruijkers, Rukkers, Rycardt) were harpsichord and virginal makers from the Southern Netherlands based in Antwerp in the 16th and 17th century. Their influence stretched well into the 18th century, and to the harpsichord revival of the 20th. The Ruckers family contributed immeasurably to the harpsichord's technical development, pioneering the addition of a second manual; the quality of their instruments is such that the name of Ruckers is as important to early keyboard instruments as that of Stradivarius is to the violin family. In the 18th century, Ruckers instruments were often modified by French makers in a process known as ''ravalement'', to allow for an extended range and other additions. ==The Ruckers family== The family probably originated in Germany. The earliest known member, Hans Ruckers, was from Weissenburg, according to documents from 1530 in the Antwerp city archives, and the similarly named Arnold Rucker was a German organ builder in the city in 1520. Hans Ruckers (1540s–1598) was born in Mechelen. In 1575 he married Adriana Cnaeps; harpsichord maker Marten van der Biest was a witness at the wedding, though it is not known what their working relationship was. Hans Ruckers was a Catholic and had 11 children, two of whom became harpsichord makers, and his daughter Catharina (to whom harpsichord maker Willem Gompaerts (c.1534 – after 1600) was godfather) married into the instrument-making Couchet family, ensuring a strong continuation of both dynasties; her son Joannes continued in the family craft. Hans Ruckers became a member of the Guild of St Luke in 1579, and a citizen of Antwerp in 1594; he lived very near the artist Rubens in the Jodenstraat.〔biography of Joannes Couchet, Musical Instrument Museum, Brussels, Belgium, http://www.mim.be/harpsichord-joannes-couchet-antwerp-1646〕 He signed his instruments by working his initials into the rose. Instruments by him in existence today are virginals from the 1580s and 1590s now in Berlin, Bruges, New York, Paris and Yale University. He was also an organ builder, though none by him remains; he is known to have worked on the organs of St. Jacobskerk and Antwerp Cathedral. Joannes Ruckers (variants: Ioannes, Hans, Jan) (15 January 1578 – 29 September 1642) was the first son of Hans Ruckers, and also became a harpsichord and organ maker. He lived his life in Antwerp. He and brother Andreas became partners in their father's business upon his death, Joannes becoming sole owner in 1608. He joined the Guild of St Luke in 1611; his entry reads 'Hans Rukers, sone, claversigmaker'; following this he engraved 'IR' into the rose of his instruments, rather than his father's 'HR'. He worked for the archdukes of the Netherlands in Brussels from 1616. His nephew Joannes Couchet joined his workshop around 1627, taking it over after his death. Around 35 of his instruments are in existence today. Andreas Ruckers I (or Andries) (30 August 1579 – after 1645) was the second son of Hans Ruckers, and likewise became a harpsichord maker based in Antwerp. In 1605 he married; three of his children survived to adulthood. Details of his life are scarce after he sold his share in the family business to his brother Joannes in 1608. He remained a harpsichord maker, was still alive in September 1645 and may have lived ten years or more after that date. His surviving instruments are dated from 1607 to 1644, and are in collections all over the world. Andreas Ruckers II (or Andries) (31 March 1607 – before 1667) was the son of Andreas Ruckers I, from whom he learned his craft. An 1638 entry in the records of the Guild of St Luke that reads, "Rickart, claversingelmaker, wijnmeester" may refer to him. He married Joanna Hechts that year; they had six children, and she died of the plague in 1653. Seven of his instruments, built in the 1640s and 1650s, are known to exist in collections around the world. He was the last of the Ruckers family under that name. See Couchet for another branch of the family. There may have been another Ruckers maker as yet unidentified: two virginals built in the 17th-century Ruckers tradition have similar roses with the initials 'CR'; they were once thought to have been the work of Christoffel Ruckers, a 16th-century organ player living in Dendermonde, but he is now generally excluded as a possible maker. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ruckers」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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