Greg’s Photo Blog

A Trove of Instruments in the Cité de la Musique

In 1997 I tried to visit the Cité de la Musique but was thwarted by an actor’s strike that locked down the building. Today I succeeded. And it was well worth the effort of trekking out to the 19th arrondissement on the outskirts of central Paris.

Within the Cité is the Musée de la Musique which houses an impressive collection of musical instruments. You don’t have to be a musician to appreciate the beauty and craft on show.

Other French museums have loaned instruments and paintings to the Musée de la musique to provide a broader context and richer narrative, and so a more compelling exhibition.

Highlights Slideshow

The Museum of Music

The Cité de la Musique is a group of institutions dedicated to music situated in the Parc de la Villette, 19th arrondissement of Paris, France.

It was designed with the nearby Conservatoire de Paris (CNSMDP) by the architect Christian de Portzamparc and opened in 1995.

— Cité de la Musique (wikipedia)

The students at the conservatorium are fortunate indeed to have this facility close to where they are studying.

We explored the museum’s permanent collection. The website states:

The Museum of Music has become world renowned for its collection and presentation of musical instruments. The historical heritage within its walls spans centuries.

The Museum of Music represents a collection of more than 8000 instruments and art objects, with almost 1000 on exhibit in the permanent exhibition space. Six chapters take visitors through the history of music in Europe and around the world, from the 17th century to today.

The website, unlike those of other museums we visited, does not provide much information or many images, which is a shame for those of us living overseas.

Museums now have guides (apps or websites) that you download onto your phone (or they provide a device), with extra information and spoken commentaries. The one provided by Musée de la musique only works when you are on their WiFi network.

There was audio of some of the instruments on display and the soundtracks of the videos associated with some exhibits. This was well done. I just wish they would make it all more available. Maybe they think people won’t bother going to the museum if it’s all online, but this is short-sighted and outdated. I suspect this museum was one of the first to have these audio and visual guides and they have not updated their tech post-Covid.

👉 Text in quotations is taken from the information panels and translated by my AI buddy.

The Building

The Cité de la Musique was opened in 1995. The entrance doesn’t look like much.

The music museum is in it’s own area next to the concert hall (on the left).

Hopkinson Smith

Hopkinson Smith was one of my heroes when I was at Uni in the 1970s. He was a member of Jordi Savall’s Hespèrion XX and he taught at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis until his retirement in 2020.

Here he is demonstrating a few lutes and a guitar from the collection. It was a pleasant surprise to see this.

Hopkinson Smith playing lutes and a guitar.

The Lepanto Clavichord (16th century)

Anonymous
German School?
16th century?

The decoration on the lid depicts the Battle of Lepanto, which took place in 1571 near the Gulf of Patras in Greece, where the Ottoman fleet was defeated by the allied naval forces of the Holy League.

Harpsichord by P. Faby (17th century)

Bologna, 1677

The harpsichord is adorned with engraved ivory and mother-of-pearl plaques. The exterior case features a trompe-l’œil decoration of imitation hardstones.

The harpsichord inside its exterior case.

Italian Keyboards

Among the preserved Italian harpsichords, the oldest date back to the early 16th century and reflect an already well-established tradition of craftsmanship that varied little until the 18th century.

The instrument has thin cypress walls, reinforced by mouldings whose profile marks the maker. A sturdier outer case protects it.

Generally very slender in shape due to the elongation of the bass strings, it has a single keyboard and two ranks of unison strings.

Its typical sound (quick and precise attack, short sustain) makes it an excellent accompaniment instrument.

Ivory and mother of pearl.

The Power of Love

Two people depicted together in a musical context is a powerful metaphor for a loving relationship (and ‘love’ has several meanings). It makes me think of harmony, communication, expression, collaboration, growth and shared experience.

Here are a couple of cases in point.

The Music Lesson or The Duo

Jean-Marc Nattier (1685-1766)
Paris, 1710
Oil on canvas

I prefer to think of this as ‘The Duo’. ‘The Music Lesson’ seems a bit inappropriate for what is going on.

The sheet music is a collection of airs by Bernier, a popular composer in the early 18th century.

The viola da gamba shows a similarity to Michel Collichon’s viola da gamba, which is preserved in the museum.

Bass Viol – Michel Collichon (?-1693)

Paris, 1683

Few instruments by this luthier, one of the most famous for viols in late 17th century Paris, are known. Damaged in the 18th century, this viol ceased to be played and has come down to us in an exceptionally authentic state.

Instrument makers can learn a lot from instruments in this state.

Portrait of a Man with a Flute

French School
Second half of the 18th century
Oil on canvas

Pure adoration. The flute is secondary.

This portrait of a gentleman reveals the importance of music in cultivated circles. It was long considered to be a portrait of Alexandre Le Riche de La Pouplinière; however, nothing can confirm this attribution.

Is that a real hat? Or is the artist showing off their skill at painting fabric? I want one!

Music, Nature and Science

Still Life with Globe and Musical Instruments

Pierre-Nicolas Huilliot (1674-1751)
France, 18th century
Oil on canvas
On loan from the National Museum of the Palace of Versailles

Pierre Nicolas Huilliot (French wikipedia) is great. Do an image search: he did a lot of still life paintings with flowers and musical instruments.

The lighting made it difficult to photograph.

In the painting, the attributes of science and music are brought together, while nature is evoked by the flowers.

Art seems to participate in both worlds: divine creation and human knowledge.

A casual flute and musette.

Amazing attention to detail.

Almost 3 dimensional.

A Chorus of Composers

Portrait of Marin Marais (1656-1728)

Workshop of André Bouys (1656-1740)
Paris, 1704
Oil on canvas
On loan from the Louvre Museum

A musician in the King’s Chamber, Marin Marais (1656-1728) was renowned throughout Europe as a violist and composer.

I knew this famous portrait of Marais. I didn’t realise it lives here in the Musée de la musique. Such a pleasant surprise.

I don’t think this is standard viola da gamba playing technique. But it makes the composition interesting and unique — an it looks cool.

Portrait of Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683–1764)

Attributed to Joseph Aved (1702–1766)  circa 1728 oil on canvas
Collection Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon  

Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683–1764), French composer and music theorist of the Baroque era.

Another well-known painting that I didn’t realise now lives here.

A Harmony of Harps

Harp by Erard Frères

Paris, 1799
Bequeathed by Mme Marcotte de Quivières in 1981

The instrument bears the number 7 engraved on the console. It is thus one of the very first harps built by the Erard company, equipped with a “fork” system and a single action, patented in London in 1794.

Harp by Georges Cousineau (1733-1800) and Jacques Georges Cousineau (1760-1836)

Late 18th century
On loan from the Museum of Decorative Arts

Invented by the maker in the early 1780s, the “crutch” system shortens the string by a semitone through the rotation of two superimposed pins.

Harp by Renault & Châtelain

Paris, Late 18th century

Alceste by Jean-Baptiste Lully

This instrumental ensemble evokes the one used by Jean-Baptiste Lully during the performance of his opera Alceste, which took place in the Marble Courtyard of the Palace of Versailles on 4 July 1674.

Angélique

Anonymous
France, late 17th century

The angélique (from Italian angelica) is a plucked string instrument.

Recorders

Alto Recorder
Anonymous
France, early 18th century
Acquired in 1980

Tenor Recorder
Anonymous
France, early 18th century
Acquired in 1980

Marble Courtyard of the Palace of Versailles in 1674

1/100 scale model
Created by Rémi Munier, 1995

A Flurry of Flutes

Originating from Asia, the transverse flute arrived in the West during the Middle Ages. Initially, it was constructed as a single piece with six lateral holes and an embouchure.

By the end of the 17th century, its construction evolved: it was made in three, then four parts, equipped with a seventh hole closed by a key, enhancing its range and sound quality, eventually surpassing the recorder. In the 19th century, the use of keys became widespread.

From Méthode de flûte progressive et raisonnée (1851) by J.-L. Tulou.

Many flutes and recorders (in the background) on display.

Carl August Grenser (1720-1807) Dresden – mid 18th century.

Christoph Freyer ? Germany – around 1760-1770.

I play a Quantz flute, so the Chrisoph Freyer flute is particularly interesting.

This double key system, which allows for distinguishing D-sharp from E-flat, was conceived and implemented by the German flautist and maker Johann Joachim Quantz (1697-1773), musician to Frederick II of Prussia and author of a famous treatise on the transverse flute.

Christoph Freyer, who collaborated with Quantz, is very likely the maker of this flute.

Stephan Koch (1772-1828) Vienna – beginning of 19th century.

Piccolo by Johann Ziegler Vienna - 19th century.

Jeremias Schlegel (1730-1792) Basel (Switzerland) – 18th century

Transverse flute with six replacement bodies.

In the 18th century, the pitch standard was not fixed but depended on the location and circumstances. The replacement bodies (corps de rechange) allowed for the adjustment of the length and thus the pitch of certain wind instruments.

This flute exceptionally includes seven replacement bodies.

Gilles Lot (1721-after 1775) – Paris, circa 1760

The Hotteterre Dynasty

The Hotteterre dynasty had a significant influence on the making of wind instruments throughout Europe. Originating from the village of La Couture-Boussey in Normandy, they worked as wood turners as early as the 16th century.

Both instrument makers and musicians, the most talented among them joined the Grande Écurie (the King’s Great Stable). They were probably the first to construct instruments in multiple segments, which allowed them to rationalise the construction and pay particular attention to the bore.

This innovation notably improved the timbre and tuning of the oboe, transverse flute, and recorder.

Transverse Flute attributed to Jacques Martin Hotteterre (1673-1763) – Paris, early 18th century.

The foot joint is a reconstruction based on a similar model preserved in the museum in Graz (Austria).

I’m pretty sure this particular instrument is a 19th-century copy.

Reconstructed foot joint.

’HOTTETERRE’

Transverse Flute in its Case

Tebaldo Monzani (1762-1839) – London, 1796

A Horde of Harpsichords

Harpsichord by Ioannes Couchet (1615-1655)

Antwerp, 1652. Refurbished in France in 1701.

The harpsichord, made by Couchet, a successor of the Ruckers, has undergone only minor refurbishment. The case still features a Flemish faux marble design.

The gilded decoration, known as “à la Bérain,” and the French-style stand date from the early 18th century.

In my final exam at the Brussels Conservatorium in 1984 I had the pleasure of being accompanied by an original Couchet harpsichord from the Brussels Music Instrument Museum collection. It did not have gilding (it was rather plain looking) but it sounded rich and resonant. I particularly remember the beautiful bass register.

Flemish faux marble design

Harpsichord by Pierre Donzelague

Lyon, 1716
On loan from the Museum of Textiles, Lyon

Harpsichord by Jean-Henri Hemsch

Paris - 1761

Harpsichord by Jean-Claude Goujon / Jacques Joachim Swanen

Paris – Before 1749 / 1784
On loan from the Mobilier National

The popularity of Flemish harpsichords was such that new instruments were constructed “in the Flemish style.”

A false Ruckers signature was placed on this harpsichord, while Goujon’s signature is found inside the case.

I was fooled. I thought the museum had placed the wrong info panel with this harpsichord. Then I read what it said.

There a lot of violins out there with fake Stradivarius labels, so I wasn’t surprised.

The chinoiserie decoration on the case is not at all like a Ruckers.

Bansuri Flute Performance

Live performances are put on every day in the Museum, providing constant opportunities for dialogue between musicians and the public.

I caught part of a bansuri flute performance by Romain Mollard. The performances last 3 hours and the audience can ask questions.

In the morning Ruth Unger performed on transverse flutes and world flutes. I’m sorry I missed it, but the website does not have a listing of performances.

What a brilliant idea.

So now I’m going to have to get my hands on one of these.

I’ve been known to tell my students: “If you can’t sing it, you can’t play it.”

I’ve also been known to use hand gestures to indicate the shaping of phrases.

I love Romain Mollard’s playing.

Playing at Peasants

The Hurdy-Gurdies and Musettes

The taste for rustic music gave a new boost to the musette and the hurdy-gurdy.

From 1720 onwards, the first music collections reflected the enthusiasm of amateur audiences, in high society and even at court, for these two instruments, which often received sumptuous decoration: silk or embroidered velvet coverings, and ivory chanters with silver keys.

Luthiers sometimes reused the bodies of lutes and guitars, instruments that had fallen out of fashion, to make hurdy-gurdies.

After 1760, both the hurdy-gurdy and the musette experienced a rapid decline in scholarly music.

Hurdy-Gurdy – Jean-Nicolas Lambert (1708-1759)

Paris, mid-18th century

Lambert – A Parisian Luthier

In 1752, luthiers were distinguished from other instrument makers, who had previously been grouped in the guild of “musical instrument makers” created in 1599.

Access to the profession and the practice of the trade were governed by strict rules. A member of the guild and a renowned luthier of the 18th century, Jean-Nicolas Lambert worked for a clientele of bourgeois and aristocrats, offering fashionable instruments (hurdy-gurdy, violin).

Musette de cour (of the court)

Chedeville – Paris, Early 18th century.

Bellows-operated musettes, derived from popular bagpipes, were rarely signed. This one is an exception, as Chedeville belonged to a famous dynasty of instrument makers and musicians.

Musette de cour

Anonymous – France 1690-1720.

The covering of this musette is a reconstruction. For conservation reasons, the original covering cannot be displayed.

Now I want one of these too.

Les Grotesques

Russian Bassoon

Jean-Baptiste Tabard (1779-1845)
Lyon, early 19th century

Serpent

C. Baudouin – Paris, early 19th century

This wooden instrument, covered in leather, was used to play bass repertoire in both church music and military bands.

Octobasse

Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume (1798-1875) Paris, c. 1850

This gigantic instrument descends only a third below the double bass but has a much more powerful sound. Presented at the 1855 Universal Exhibition, it received praise from Berlioz.

There was a video a this being played. Warm deep sound.

But it’s not an instrument for playing fast passages.

You bow it and pull levers.

Stay tuned for more adventures on our European Odyssey!