The Dulcken family were

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

harpsichord makers of German origin. Joannes Daniel Dulcken (21 April 1706 – 11 April 1757) was born in Wingeshausen, the son of Georg Ludwig Dulcken (died Wingeshausen, before 1752). In 1736 he was in

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

, but by 1738 he had moved with his wife Susanna Maria Knopffell and their son to Antwerp where they became members of the Reformed church. He became an

alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

in 1744, and lived in Hopland. He travelled to England in 1750 to sell two of his harpsichords. His will left all his harpsichord-making material to his son Joannes Dulcken; he died in Antwerp. He left a good reputation behind: Charles Burney claimed that, after the Ruckers family, 'the harpsichord-maker of the greatest eminence … was J. D. Dulcken'. He made single and double manual harpsichords, generally with a compass of five octaves (sometimes slightly less) and the common three registers; two 8' and one 4'. He decorated the soundboards with

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s and carved his initials into the rose. Dulcken's harpsichords are a development of Ruckers designs and have a larger range. His harpsichords have often served as models for modern reproductions by Martin Skowroneck and others. His surviving instruments are in collections around the world and all date from the mid-18th century. Johan Lodewijk ouisDulcken I (1733 – after 1793) was born in

and was the eldest son of Joannes Daniel Dulcken, from whom he learnt harpsichord building. He went on to establish himself in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

in 1755, and is later mentioned as an organ builder there. He was by 1783 a piano builder in Paris, frenchifying his name to Louis Dulcken. His surviving instruments are a harpsichord and a number of pianos. Joannes Dulcken (10 September 1742 – 22 July 1775) was born in Antwerp; he was the son of Joannes Daniel Dulcken, upon whose death he moved with his mother, sister and brother-in-law to Brussels in 1764, where a workshop was set up. He too became a harpsichord maker; his surviving instruments are dated 1764 and 1769. He settled in

in 1771 and died in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

. Johan Lodewijk Dulcken II (9 August 1761 – after 1835) was born in Amsterdam and named after his father, the first Johan Lodewijk Dulcken; he was thus J.D.D.'s grandson. He went into the family business and by 1781 was employed as 'Mechanischer Hofklaviermacher' in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, where he remained for the rest of his life; he is last mentioned in 1835. His daughter-in-law was Sophie Dulcken.

Sources

*Jeannine Lambrechts-Douillez: 'Dulcken', Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 18 May 2007), http://www.grovemusic.com/ *A. Curtis: ''Dutch Harpsichord Makers'', TVNM, (1960–1961) *A.J. Gierveld: ''The Harpsichord and Clavichord in the Dutch Republic'', TVNM, (1981) *J. Lambrechts-Douillez: ''The History of Harpsichord Making in Antwerpen icin the 18th Century'', Studia {{DEFAULTSORT:Dulcken Harpsichord makers Flemish pipe organ builders Piano makers Dutch musical instrument makers Belgian musical instrument makers

See also

Sources