Forgotten Voices of Versailles
Philippe Joseph Hinner (1755–1784) – long known only as “Harp Master to Her Majesty, the Queen of France” – was far more than a court musician. His remarkable biography and elegant music open a vivid window onto the world of Marie Antoinette and the refined culture of pre-Revolutionary France.
Born in Wetzlar as the son of a harpist, Hinner’s early life already reads like a novel: in 1764 he followed his father on an expedition to French Guiana, survived tropical fever, and returned to France, where he completed his musical training with the support of Knight Turgot. At only fourteen he appeared at the Concert Spirituel, astonishing Paris with “force, precision, and understanding.”
In 1774 he entered the royal chapel of Louis XVI and soon became harpist and valet to the young queen. Hinner’s proximity to Marie Antoinette inspired a stream of refined compositions – romances and airs tendres for voice and harp – written for the salons of Versailles and dedicated to members of the royal family. His daughter, Louise Antoinette Laure (later Laure de Berny, muse to Balzac), was even baptised with the king and queen as godparents.
Between 1777 and 1780, Hinner travelled widely through Europe, admired as a virtuoso in Italy and London. Back in France, he enjoyed royal favour until his sudden death in 1784, leaving behind music of delicate beauty that mirrored both the elegance and the fragility of his age.

The Recording
For several years, Julia Kirchner and Vera Schnider have explored forgotten repertoire for voice and harp around 1800. Their new recording brings to life Hinner’s Romances and Airs – intimate works full of grace, sentiment, and subtle virtuosity.
The performers approach this repertoire with historical insight, drawing on 18th-century sources for articulation, tempo flexibility, and ornamentation. Together with theatre scholar Julia Gros de Gasquet, Julia Kirchner also researched the historical French pronunciation of Marie Antoinette’s time, reviving its distinctive sonorities.
Vera Schnider performs on an original Cousineau harp, built in Paris in the late 18th century – the very sound world that Hinner and the queen would have known.
This recording invites listeners into the refined salons of Versailles, where music became a mirror of feeling, elegance, and fleeting grace – and where Philippe Joseph Hinner, harpist to the queen, once made hearts resonate.