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Abbreviation
Gahn
Surname
Gahn
Given Name
Johann Benedikt
Dates
1675-1711
Provenance
Nuremberg, Germany
Notes
Johann Benedikt Gahn was admitted as master in the Nuremberg wood turners guild in 1698. The late date was due to the fact that he married the widow of the master to whom he was apprenticed. Specializing in musical instruments, he maintained a workshop in Nuremberg until his death in 1711 at the age of 36. He was buried at the Johannsfriedhof. Gahn was quite wealthy, leaving a substantial fortune to his wife.
About 25 recorders and a few oboes of ivory or boxwood have survived. Some of his recorders feature a carved decoration with acanthus leaves and a mask, a motive, linked to Nuremberg, and appearing on other instruments by other makers. It occurs on peg boxes of viols and on recorders of the famous Nuremberg woodwind maker, Johann Wilhelm Oberlender the Elder (1681–1763).
Adrian Brown notes that many of Ghan's recorders are unlike the more standard designs of the Denners, Schell, Oberlander, and that some of recorders are internally more similar to the Kynseker designs and in this respect, show a connection to early baroque recorders.
Recorders by Johann Benedikt Gahn
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