Debey (no first name known) was a Franco/Flemish maker who flourished in the early 18th century.  Only three instruments have survived, 1 alto recorder and oboes.  The alto recorder is now owned by the collection of the Gemeentemeuseum in The Hague and has been on loan to the University of Utrecht for quite a  while. The instrument is made of stained boxwood and has the very remarkable pitch of A415 Hz.  The turning work is of excellent quality. This recorder is an all round instrument which has a warmer and more melancholic tone than another instrument also originally at A415, the Jacob Denner alto, which has been described as more extrovert in tone quality. This warm tone is especially useful for French baroque music (like Hotteterre, Marais, or  Philidor), but because of its good playing characteristics it is also used for German and Italian chamber music.

                                      
The reason Debey is so widely copied today is because it is one of the best preserved original instruments and did not require scaling when made at A415. The first modern maker to copy the Debey was Fred Morgan, and it was trying his Debey copy (purchased by Anneke Boeke in 1972) that convinced me he was a really excellent maker and that good copies of historical instruments are generally superior to modern designs.  Currently, Debey copies are being produced by Sorel, Klemisch, van der Poel, Boudreau and the Morgan workshop in conjunction with Nicolaj Ronimus, Jacqueline Sorel, and others.

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