Élisabeth Claude Jacquet, like many artists of the Ancien Régime, was born into a family of musicians: her father Claude Jacquet was an organist and harpsichord master. It is likely he who taught her the instrument, accompaniment, and probably composition as well. She made her debut as a child prodigy, securing the encouragement and protection of king Louis XIV. In 1684, she married Marin de La Guerre, who was also a member of a renowned musical dynasty. After her wedding, Élisabeth taught at her domicile, where she also performed highly-regarded concerts. She also embarked on a career as a composer: in 1685, a small opera was performed in the Dauphin’s apartments (likely Les Jeux en l’honneur de la Victoire), and in 1687 she published her first collection of harpsichord pieces. In 1694, she was granted access to the prestigious stage of the Académie Royale de Musique: the Opera. She became the first woman composer of operas in the history of France. Her work Céphale et Procris, on a libretto by Duché de Vancy, is part of the Lullyist tradition and contains pages of sustained tragedy, such as Procis’ moving monologue “Funeste mort, donnez-moi du secours” (IV, 3). Élisabeth was also open to a degree of modernity: she did not hesitate to try her hand at the new Italian styles that were the sonata and the cantata, publishing her Sonates pour violon et clavecin in 1707. Her first collection of sonatas was very original from a French perspective, as they dealt with scripture: Cantates françoises sur des sujets tirez de l’Ecriture (1708 and 1711). She followed this up with a collection of secular cantatas, Cantates françoises in 1715, with a comic duet planned for Théâtre de la Foire. Regarding her personal life, she experienced loss early: her only son died in 1697, aged ten, followed by her husband in 1704. After 1715, Élisabeth seems to have retired from music. She died on 27 June 1729 and was buried in Saint-Eustache church.

– Bertrand Porot, Professor emeritus, Université de Reims-CERHIC and IReMus –

[Traduction en anglais : Raphaël Meyer]