Baptized Elisabeth Jacquet the 17th of March, 1665, in Paris, probably on the Ile Saint-Louis where her parents lived at the time, she came from a long line of musicians.

Elisabeth had two, brothers and a sister who also became musicians: Pierre (c.1666-1729) and Nicolas were organists like their father, the former in Paris, the latter in Bordeaux.

Elisabeth Jacquet first appeared at the court of Louis XIV at Versailles at the age of five, enchanting her listeners with the beauty of her voice and her virtuoso harpsichord performances.

She remained there particularly close to Madame de' Montespan, the king's mistress, until her marriage, in 1684, with tire organist Marin de La Guerre. She then returned to Paris and combined her maiden name with her husband's.

In March of 1694, at the Academie Royale de Musique, the musician produced her musical tragedy Cephale et Procris based on a libretto by the young Joseph-Francois Duche de Vancy (1668- 1704).

The work was not well received, and it is perhaps due to this setback that Elisabeth Jacquet abandoned the realm of opera.

Towards 1695, her sonatas were amongst the very first examples of the genre.

A few years later, in 1707, the Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord, confirm her interest in the new forms which had originated in Italy; these collections are all dedicated to Louis XIV.

Her fidelity to the monarch is due to the generosity he lavished on her from her childhood on, and for which she was forever grateful.

The innovative aspect of Elisabeth's work is also to be seen in the vocal area represented by the twelve French Cantatas, on subjects drawn from Holy Scriptures published in 1708 and 1711, these being the most important cantatas on pious subjects in the French repertoire of the time.

Towards 1715, Elisabeth Jacquet brought out a third collection of cantatas on secular themes (Semele, The Is land of Delos, the Sleep of Ulysses), and the publisher Jean-Baptiste-Christophe Ballard (c.1663-1750) included a few of her airs in some of his collections.

One of the best-known centres in the cultivation of the Italian style was the coterie of Nicolas Mathieu, a priest of the Saint-Andre-des Arts parish in Paris's Latin Quarter.

The first French composer to try his hand at this new genre seems to have been Marc-Antoine Charpentier who, around 1685, wrote a Sonata for 2 German flutes, 2 treble viols, bass viol, stringed bass violin, harpsichord and theorbo.

Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre's sonatas do not comprise a set number of movements, but vary from five to eight.

MIDI FILE - Air (2'42'')

Most of them are to be played without a pause, generally-but not systematically alternating between lively and slow tempos.

MIDI FILE - Rondeau for 2 violins (2'20'')

However, in the manuscript of sonatas for' solo violin and the Sonata in D Minor from 1707, one may observe a greater autonomy in movements, as well as a richer rhythmical variety, the development of the sequential treatment, increased thematic work and a heightened degree of virtuosity.

All these sonatas begin with a Grave typical of the church sonata.

MIDI FILE - Bourrče for 2 violins (1'12'')

The length of the different movements varies considerably.

Thus, certain Adagios, serving as the conclusion to a rapid movement, only consist of a few bars, as in Corelli.

Or else, like her contemporary, Francois Couperin, Elisabeth jacquet varies the instrumentation in the course of the pieces, sometimes using only a single violin in the trio sonatas or giving the bass viol a soloist's role.

In the sonatas for solo violin, the trio formation is sometimes reconstituted when the basso continuo doubles itself.

MIDI FILE - Menuet (1'13'')

All the sonatas manuscripts (except for the Sonata in B flat Major) contain an Aria which corresponds to the Air in Couperin's and Rebel's sonatas, while presenting a more complex structure. hh

The sonata printed in 1707 again begins with an aria but without any further information.

This one is highly developed and combines the two forms of rondo and variation with a lovely theme which is tender and melancholy.

But the musician's art must certainly not be reduced to a simple imitation of the Italians: one will noitice certain remarkable characteristics such as the elaborate thematic treatment (Aria affetuoso of the D Major sonatas, and the first Vivace of the C Minor), the relationship of themes within the same sonata (the Vivace e presto, the Aria affettuoso and Allegro of the D Major) or the inclusion of original writing procedures (the ostinato of the Recit de violle in the B Flat Major Sonata).