Essay On Jacique De La Guerre

Elizabeth-Claude Jacquet de La Guerre was a 17th century composer, harpsichordist, and organist from France, who was thriving in Versailles at that time. What makes her remarkable is that she was the first women to have an opera, Céphale et Procris, staged at the Acadéimie Royale de Musique, the prestigious opera house in Paris. Her outstanding talent as a harpsichordist, singer and accompanist was commended greatly by the Versailles royalty. As stated by the Paris Mercure gallant, “Mademoiselle Jaquet from the tenderest youth made known her talents and her extraordinary disposition for music and art of playing the harpsichord…”.
During this essay I will look at Jacquet’s contribution to Baroque music. To do this I will first look at Jacquet's background and influences growing up, as well as the time she was writing in. I will also make reference to Jacquet’s Cantatas and Céphale et Procris.
Jacquet was born in 1665, in Paris, France. She was born into a family of artisans, who were master instrument builders, instrumentalists and singers. It was from her father, Claude Jacquet, that she got her first professional music training. She was fortunate that her parents valued her music education, as at that time it was rare that girls received the same high-quality education as boys.

Jacquet was first recognised as a musical prodigy, when she was presented before Louis XIV, and the Versailles Court. She was recognised for her extraordinary talent as a harpsichordist, singer and accompanist for her own singing. However it was her gift for improvisation that astounded her audiences. As the Mercure gallant noted, “ She sings at sight the most difficult music. She accompanies herself... which she plays in a manner that cannot be imitated. She composes pieces and plays them in all keys asked of her”. Following her successful debut, the king took her into the court and placed her under the protection of his mistress, Madame de Montespan, who overlooked Jacquet’s musical and academic education. Jacquet married Marin de La Guerre, an accomplished harpsichordist and organist in 1684 and subsequently left the regular service of the court. However most of her work is dedicated to Louis XIV, which shows that Jacquet stayed is close contact with the Versailles court. This marriage played a crucial role in establishing Jacquet’s position in the Paris and Versailles orbit. It is these early influences that set Jacquet’s musical career in motion.
To fully understand the contribution of Elizabeth-Claude Jacquet de La Guerre to the Baroque Era, we must first look at the time that she was writing in. Paris at this time was a centre for music, with the development of its own operatic style and tradition, thanks to the dedication of its King, Louis XIV and the achievements of his court composer, Jean-Baptiste Lully. Under Lully, music was not simple entertainment, but an expression of royal majesty and power. It is clear that the vibrancy between the surroundings and music of the city and court greatly influenced Jacquet’s life and musical achievements. The shift in art at that time, from classical mythology and heroic figures to more modern scenarios and foreign worlds also influenced her music. Jacquet music mirrored this new approach by “ idealizing an embellished but ordered grace”.
I will know look at Jacquet’s opera, Céphale et Procris. As I have mentioned above this opera was the first known tragédie lyrique composed by a women for the Académie Royale de Musique in Paris, which premiered in March 1694. The opera concerned the theme of love opposed by powerful intervening gods. It is evident from listening to the opera that this theme runs throughout. Like many orchestras of that time, Jacquets orchestra consisted of a five-part string section. The opera opens with a prologue commending Louis XIV, this is followed by the first of five acts. From listening to this piece, it is clear that the first and last acts are most crucial in demonstrating the tragic drama. The opera progresses through recitatives infused by different airs, ensembles, choruses, dances and instrumental pieces. It is evident through the piece that it has a strong tonal centre. Act 1 opens with an instrumental section which establishes the plot, which “presents the factor of divine intervention leading inevitably to the tragedy of the final act.” From act 2 there is a strong Italian influence, as the air is an Italiante da capo air, instead of a French rondeau form. This shows that Jacquet enjoyed composing in an Italian style. This air encompasses difficult melodic intervals and un-expecting harmonies, making it difficult for the singer. Act 2, Lieux écartez, paisible solitude, demonstrates the crucial theme of “infidelity instigated by powerful divinities”. Act 3, Céphales’s air Armour, que sous tes loix cruelles, contains a divertissement, other songs, ballet and dances. This act is also in rondeau form. Act 4, develops the theme of infidelity, by providing a beautiful lament, continued by an all-male chorus, containing tenors and basses. Act 5, is a “ tragic resolution of cruelty as much as of fidelity”. This is portrayed in an dramatic recitative.
Despite everything however, Cépahle et Procris, was not received well among the classes and had only a few performances. There was many reasons for this, Cuthbert Girdlestone pointed out that “ the audiences reaction stemmed from the opera’s dramatically weak libretto”. This impacted on the story, as it interrupted the dramatic tension. What also contributed to this was that in 1686, music was changing dramatically and the theme of love and war were not as popular they used to be. Other reasons, such as poverty and devastating military losses also impacted this. However, despite all this Jacquet’s Opera was popular outside of Paris and had great success in Strasbourg.
Following this, Jacquet de La Guerre, composed a book of Cantatas, which I am going to discuss now.

It is evident that Jacquet was heavily influenced by the Italian style of music. After the death of Lully, composers had the opportunity to express themselves more and delve into different styles of music, Italian being most popular. The fact that Louis XIV, enjoyed Italian music helped to develop this style as well. Jacquet was not solely inspired by Italian music, but also from the poet Jean-Baptiste Rousseau, which she based many of her cantatas. The Italian style of her cantatas included “ robust, inventive themes and fluid melodic lines coupled with unexpected harmonic

progressions..”.
The cantatas are in three volumes, with two that are centred around biblical subjects and the other on secular themes. She is commended for her clear distinction between her sacred and secular music, which was very uncommon around the court at that time. Jacquet was also the first French women to have published a complete book of cantatas. They were published by volume in, 1708, 1711 and 1715. There is no doubt but that these cantatas contributed greatly to the early French cantatas of that time. One must also note that the first two volumes of these cantatas were among the earliest examples of this genre composed in France. Her individuality was clearly portrayed in the fusing of musical expression in her work. Jacquets work always made a connection to human emotions, and she expressed this through her music. As stated by the Journal des Scavans, she “ always constructs her music according to the feeling or passion that dominate each work; the music expresses the in individual words and their significance- without doing so excessively”.
Jacquet de La Guerre died in the 1729, having willed her compositions to her nephews. It is evident however that she was a recognised and successful musician and composer throughout her life. She succeed where many women had fallen down, particularly because during that era female composers were very rare. Not only had she contributed greatly to the music of the time, she also had great achievements. Some of these achievements include, she was the first known women composer to write for harpsichord, first to have solo violin sonatas and keyboard pieces published, and also the only French harpsichord composer to have compositions published before and after the turn of the eighteenth century.