Jacquet De La Guerre: Harpischord Suites Nos. 1-6

Featuring

Elizabeth Farr
Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre

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Instruments

The harpsichord used for this recording was built in 2003 by Keith Hill and was selected for its sound quality, which supports the lute-like improvisatory playing style.

Composition History

Jacquet de La Guerre was one of only four French composers to publish a book of harpsichord pieces in the 17th century, and the only one to publish in both the 17th and 18th centuries.

Compositional Technique

Jacquet de La Guerre's music uses the 'style brisé,' an arpeggiated or broken style borrowed from lute playing, which allowed her freedom in how harmonies and melodies unfold.

Composer Biography

Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de La Guerre was introduced to the court of Louis XIV as a child prodigy, with accounts exaggerating her age and abilities.

Composition History

Jacquet de La Guerre's first book of harpsichord pieces (1687) was believed lost until scholar Carol Henry Bates discovered a copy, possibly the only one surviving, in a Venetian library.

Critical Reception

Just three years after her death, Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de La Guerre was hailed in Le Parnasse français as one of the most talented musicians of her era, praised as an imaginative composer, improviser, and performer.

Composer Biography

Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de La Guerre was famous during her lifetime as both a composer and harpsichordist, transcending typical boundaries for women musicians of her era.