200
years, Dedicated to musicians and music... |
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The history of instrument makers is a human
adventure, all the more interesing for us today to learn about
since the intimate details of this part of the history of
music have been left mostly in the shadows
In France the pioneering role
of the Courtois family in the development of instrument manufacture
is documented from the time of the French Révolution,
and coincides with the beginnings of industrialization and
the modernization of brass instruments.
Different
Courtois branches
The first Courtois (first name is unknown)
founded his first workshop in 1789 in the rue Mazarine in
Paris. Two instruments are still existant : a horn (Berlin)
and a "cavalry trumpet having belonged to the courier
for the parliamentary officer sent by Napoleon Bonaparte to
St John of Acre (Egypt), occupied by his troops in 1799"
(currently in the recently inaugurated Music Museum in Paris).
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In 1803, probably after the decease
of the founder, various sons and nephews set up shops
(with varying degrees of success) under different names
and adresses (e.g. "The elder Courtois Nephew",
"The 3 sons of the Courtois nephew", "Auguste
Courtois").
But the line that interests us here is that of Antoine
Courtois (1770-1855), one of the sons of the founder,
who created the brand that we still know today. Setting
up a shop in the rue du Caire, he made use of the most
important research and acoustical techniques of the
area, and was the trusted partner of many principal
players of the Paris Opera. But it was evidently the
army who was the main customer, as was the case for
many manufacturers. Many instruments (cornets, keyed
fluegelhorns, horns, ophicleides, trombones, tec), produced
under his name, can be found today in museums and prestigious
collections. He gave a trombone to Antoine-Jean Simon
(1807-1883), first prize winner in 1838 of the newly-opened
trombone class of Dieppo at the Paris Conservatory.
Simon then became a member of the Paris Opera Orchestra.
In 1841, it was Paul Delisse (1817-1888) who received
a trombone for his prize. Delisse played trombone with
the major Parisian orchestras, and in 1871 succeeded
Dieppo as professor at the Paris Conservatory.
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Antoine COURTOIS |
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Emmanuel GAUDET
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In 1844, Antoine (Denis) Courtois (junior)
(ca. 1800-1880) succeeded his father. In 1856 he moved
to the rue des Marais, where he remained for a long
time. Continuing the work of his father, "he was
able to interest the greatest artist in his work, notably
Jean-Baptiste Arban", (see Jean-Pierre Mathez,
"Jean-Baptiste Arban", Editions Bim, 1977)
with whose assistance he created the famous Arban Cornet
which enjoyed such exceptional success. The slide trombone
was also a great Courtois specialty. Antoine Courtois
junior passed away in 1880 without leaving a descendant,
and it was the faithful Auguste Mille (1838-1898), engaged
in 1856 and becoming head of the work-shop in 1878,
who succeeded him. In 1881 the entreprise had 25 employees.
Mille continued to give special attention to improvements
in the trombones, but also built a quadruple piston
cornet (1886) invented by the Italian Alexander Scuri.
Upon the death of Mille (ca.1895 according to the 1920
catalog, ca. 1898 according to The New Langwill Index)
the Courtois company passed into the possession of his
associate E. Delfaux, and in 1908 went to his sister
Marguerite, who lost no time in teaming up with Mr Legay,
"the eminent engineer director who, with remarkable
ability, had carried on the precious traditions of the
company for many years. Legay created the tenor and
bass trombones with rotay valves, giving the instrument
new pedal tones{}".
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Entry
of the Gaudet family
On october 1, 1917, the Courtois company was
bought by Emmanuel Gaudet (1860-1933), who secured the services
of P. Deslaurier as managing director by generously offering
him free shares in the company. Both "breathed new artistic
and commercial life" into the company. In the workshops,
work was done using pulley-turned lathes connected by long
drive belts to a central rotating axis fixed to a platform,
which had the effect of shaking the whole building. Paul Gaudet
recalls : " At the top floor of our building lived a
clairvoyant. One day, distraught, she came to beg my father
to stop the vibrations which were keeping her from reading
coffee grounds and was causing her to lose clients. I suppose
she had to choose between going broke or moving away".
When Emmanuel Gaudet died in 1933, Deslaurier
took over sole control of the firm, but times were hard and
Courtois company soon found itself on the brink of ruin. In
1937, Paul (*1911), son of Emmanuel Gaudet, bought out Deslaurier's
shares and took the helm. But war soon broke out and Paul
Gaudet was immediately drafted and had to close the shops.
Valuable stocks of metal and instruments of historical value
were stolen during this period. Paul Gaudet, during his captivity
in Stalag XXB in Gotenhafen (Danzig) succeeded in founding
and directing an orchestra. Thanks to the Red Cross, he obtained
authorization to retrieve instruments from the Courtois workshops
in Paris for his musicians. The orchestra was broken up in
1944 by the German authorities after the refusal of the musicians
to perform on a propaganda broadcast by Radio Danzig called
the "Prisoners quarter-hour".
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Rue des Marais |
In this same year Paul Gaudet was liberated, and Courtois was
open for business again. In 1956 he decided to decentralize
his enterprise and had a production factory built in Amboise
(a small city of 12 000 inhabitants located 220 km from Paris
on the Loire), where Courtois instruments are still being made
today. Jacques Gaudet (*1948), son of Paul, got his start in
the business in 1967, and quickly made a reputation for himself
for his tact, competence, and aptitude for contact with the
great artist of his time with whom he tirelessly continues to
improve and develop Courtois models. Jacques Gaudet succeeded
his father in 1980. |
Jacques GAUDET and his father Paul with
the Courtois's Artists in the 80's |
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Integration
in the European TA group
In the 1990s, the economic
upheaval felt through out the world has driven countless businesses
to the wall. The global commarcial battlefield was so tough
that only the biggest concerns have the means to compete.
In Germany, the young Gerhard Meinl, heading his ancestral
family entreprise, also understands this very well. He is
taking over, restructuring and revitalizing the factories
of the en-GDR in Markneukirchen and others, particulary in
France (S.M.L. Strasser-Marigaux, Antoine Courtois) and is
forming a large European group for musical instrument manufacturing.
In 1994 with the same goal in mind, the Gerhard Meinl group
became part of the German giant TA (Triumph-Adler AG) under
its department of "Recreation and Leisure" (one
of 4 branches that TA manages).It is a top organization which
offers an excellent strategic economic network to many small
and middle-sized companies in taking over as majority stockholder
and then offering them a powerful world distribution network.
The result is the creation of spectacular economic power.
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Under this umbrella Jacques Gaudet can now
continue his creative activities with more serenity, which
is today leading to important renovations in the whole line
of Courtois instruments. For almost two centuries the strong
suits have always been the trombones, the trumpets (cornets)
and the tubas. So it's almost a given that the renovations
commence on these instruments, begining with the trumpets.
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