Antoine Vater

Vater was born to family of harpsichord- and organ builders. While his older brother Christian Vater took over the family workshop in Hanover, Anton emigrated to Paris in 1715 to practice his family’s profession and gained a reputation as one of the finest harpsichord makers in the city, eventually becoming a Guardian of the Royal Harpsichords, charged with maintaining the large collection at Versailles. He had several apprentices, the most notable being another German émigré to Paris, Henri Hemsch. Vater was a friend of German composer Georg Philipp Telemann who stayed with Vater at his house in Paris for the whole of 1738.

Three instruments by Vater are known to survive today: one (dated 1732) is at the Cité de la Musique in Paris, another (dated 1737) is in a private collection in England, and a third (dated 1738) is in Ireland.