A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Mercy, Louis

MERCY, or MERCI, Louis, an Englishman of French extraction, born in the early part of the 18th century, was an eminent performer on the flute-a-bec, or English flute, for which he composed several sets of solos. But he lived at a time when his favourite instrument was gradually becoming superseded by the Traverse, or German flute, and in the hope of averting the change he, about 1735, allied himself with Stanesby the instrument maker, in an endeavour to promote the use of a modified form of the flute-a-bec manufactured by the latter, and published 12 solos, six of which were said to be adapted to the Traverse flute, Violin, or Stanesby's New English Flute, with a preface strongly insisting on the merits of Stanesby's invention. But their efforts failed, and the flute-a-bec became a thing of the past. Mercy's solos were much esteemed in their day.

[ W. H. H. ]