Descended from a French family of instrument-makers and musicians, Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre won an early reputation as a child prodigy, distinguished as a harpsichordist with skill in singing and in improvisation. She was placed by Louis XIV under the care of his mistress, Madame de Montespan, and enjoyed continued royal favour, remaining in Paris when the court moved to Versailles. In 1684 she married the organist Marin de la Guerre, who died in 1704.

Instrumental Music

Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet’s surviving compositions include a collection of Pièces de clavecin, published in 1687 and once thought lost. A further set of pieces, Pièces de clavecin qui peuvent se jouer sur le violon (‘Harpsichord pieces that can be played on the violin’), again survives in a single copy of the 1707 publication.