a German dance teacher, musician and composer. Today his notability rests primarily on the pantalon, a keyboard instrument which he invented and which subsequently came to be seen by some as a precursor of the modern Pianoforte. Between 1698 and 1703 he was contracted by The Duke to work on the drama and music at the court of Weissenfels. In 1705 he traveled with his giant dulcimer to France. It was during this visit that the French king Louis XIV was so impressed both with the instrument and with Hebenstreit's mastery of it that he rechristened it "Le Pantalon": the name stuck.
