Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre was a French composer and harpsichord player who lived from 1665 to 1729. She played for King Louis XIV when she was about five years old, and she grew up at his court. She became one of the most admired musicians in France. The best first piece for a child is a dance from one of her harpsichord suites.
Quick facts
- Born: 1665, in Paris, France
- Died: 1729, in Paris
- Era: Baroque
- Played: harpsichord and organ
- Known for: harpsichord suites, sonatas, sacred songs, and an opera staged in Paris
The life in short
Élisabeth Jacquet was born into a family of musicians and instrument makers. Her father was an organist who built harpsichords. He taught all of his children, the girls as well as the boys.
At about five, she played and sang for the king. A newspaper of the day called her a wonder. The king was so pleased that she was brought up at court, in the household of one of the great ladies there. She was given an education that few girls received.
At 19, she married Marin de La Guerre, an organist, and left the court for Paris. She did not stop working. She taught, gave concerts in her home, and composed. People came from across the city to hear her make up music on the spot at the harpsichord.
In 1687, she published her first book of harpsichord pieces. She dedicated it to the king.
In 1694, her opera was staged at the royal opera house in Paris. She was the first woman in France to have an opera performed there.
Her only son was a gifted child who played the harpsichord. He died at ten. Her husband died a few years later. She went on composing and published sonatas, a second harpsichord book, and songs on stories from the Bible.
When she died in 1729, a medal was struck in her honor.
What the music sounds like
The harpsichord has a bright, plucked sound. It cannot play louder or softer by touch, so composers decorated the tunes with quick turns and trills to give them life.
Her harpsichord pieces are sets of dances, called suites. Each dance has its own speed and mood. Some of her pieces begin with a prelude that has no bar lines. The player decides how long to hold each note.
Italian music was the new fashion in Paris, and she was one of the first French composers to write sonatas in the Italian way.
Pieces to play first
A gigue from a harpsichord suite. A gigue is a fast, skipping dance. It often ends a suite.
A sarabande from a harpsichord suite. A slow dance in three beats, with weight on the second beat.
Chaconne “L’Inconstante.” A chaconne is a dance built on a repeating pattern. The title means “the changeable one,” and the music switches between bright and dark.
Violin Sonata in D minor. One of the sonatas she published in 1707. A violin sings over the harpsichord.
Things to do together
Harpsichord or piano? Play one of her dances on the harpsichord. Then play any piano piece. Ask your child how the two sounds differ. Read keyboard instruments for kids.
Dance the suite. Walk in slow, grand steps for the sarabande. Skip for the gigue.
Play for the king. Have your child play or sing something for the family and take a deep bow. Élisabeth did this at five.
Count the trills. A trill is two notes shaken back and forth, fast. Pick one short dance and count the trills.
The Sun King’s court
Louis XIV ruled France for 72 years from his palace at Versailles. He loved music and dance, and he danced in ballets himself as a young man. His court had the best musicians in the country. A child who impressed the king had her future made.
Another composer at that court was Jean-Baptiste Lully, who wrote the king’s operas and ballets.
Print and play
Fill in a composer study notebook page for Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre. Read about more composers in women composers for kids and more young talents in child prodigy composers. For the era she lived in, read Baroque music for kids.
For more composers from the same country, read French composers for kids. For more composers by era, see classical composers for kids.
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Use it with your kids
Print a listening page, a practice chart, or a composer fact sheet. Or try a tool, such as the composer timeline or the piece picker.