The first woman in France to compose an opera, Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre was born in 1665, a member of the instrument-making Jacquet family of Paris. A precocious musician, Elisabeth at age 5 was already performing harpsichord at the court of Louis XIV, and “The Sun King” would become an important patron of Jacquet de La Guerre… she would remain at court until it moved to the new palace at Versailles in 1682.
Remaining in Paris, she married Organist Martin de La Guerre, giving celebrated concerts, teaching lessons, and composing. Her opera Céphale et Procris--- the first created by a French woman--- premiered in 1694 at the Acadamie Royale de Musique, but unfortunately did not fit the public’s taste, only receiving a half-dozen or so performances.
Unusually, almost all of Jacquet de La Guerre’s works are believed to have been published… including suites of dances for harpsichord, a set of the new, tres-fashionable Italian-influenced sonatas for violin and harpsichord, and two sets of cantatas. One tells the story of the biblical Judith, the heroic hebrew woman who defended her home city by seducing and killing the leader of the occupying forces. Exploring the moral conflict between her righteous anger and the terrible crime required to defend her loved ones, the intimately-scaled work displays Jacquet de La Guerre’s mastery of her craft.
Even after a difficult few years when she lost her parents, her husband, and her only child, Elisabeth continued composing into the 18th century, passing in 1729 at the age of 64.
Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre… a Composing Woman.
Timeline
March 17th, 1665 - Born in Paris to family of instrument-makers and musicians
1670 - Begins playing harpsichord, singing in Louis XIV’s court
1687 - first publication, Les pièces de clavecin, premier livre
1694 - Leaves the court to marry Marin de la Guerre (they have one son, who passes at the age of 10); unsuccessful premiere of Céphale et Procris at Académie Royale de Musique (first woman in France to compose an opera)
1695 - Sébastien de Brossard copies her trio and violin sonatas
1696 - Céphale et Procris prologue revived in Strasbourg, Brossard’s academy of music
1707 - publishes second set of harpsichord suites, violin sonatas
1708 - publishes collection of cantatas
1711 - publishes secular cantata collection
1715 - Le raccommodement comique de Pierrot et de Nicole used in La ceinture de Vénus, Alain-René Lesage play performed at Foire St Germain
1721 - Te Deum, final work, performed in the Louvre chapel for Louis XV’s recovery from smallpox
Repertoire
Les pièces de clavecin, premier livre; harpsichord suites (1687)
Céphale et Procris; tragédie lyrique (1694)
Sonates pour le viollon et pour le clavecin; violin sonatas (1707)
Pièces de clavecin qui peuvent se jouer sur le viollon; harpsichord/violin suites (1707)
Cantates françoises sur des sujets tirez de l'Ecriture; cantata collection (1708) Judith, Sémélé
Cantates françoises (1711) Samson, Jonas
Le raccommodement comique de Pierrot et de Nicole; vocal duet (1715)
Te Deum (1721)
Supporting Materials
https://www.musicbywomen.org/composer/elisabeth-claude-jacquet-de-la-guerre/
