“Historical Anthology of Music by Women”
The French composer Elizabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre achieved recognition at an early age as a harpsichord virtuoso, celebrated for her improvisations. She attracted the notice of Louis XIV, enjoyed his continued protection, and dedicated most of her compositions to him. Her early education was closely supervised by Mme de Montespan, the king’s mistress. She was descended from a noted family of harpsichord builders and was married to the organist Marin de la Guerre. Her husband and her son died in 1704, and thereafter she was active as a public performer until her retirement in 1717.
La Guerre is a remarkable figure in several ways: She wrote and published works in almost every form then popular, and she was instrumental in introducing the new Italian style to France. She was one of the first women to compose in such a wide variety of genres and to be fully recognized for her achievements in a field generally reserved for men. One of her earliest works was the five-act opera Céphale et Procris, published in 1694. Some early trio and solo sonatas, from around 1695, were among the first of that genre composed in France. La Guerre was equally a pioneer in the new French cantata. Her two books of biblical cantatas, published by Ballard in 1708 and 1711, are noteworthy for their unusual subject matter and Italianate style. Other works, now lost, include a ballet, Les Jeux à l’honneur de la victoire of 1691, and a Te Deum, written to celebrate the recovery of Louis XV from smallpox in 1721.
La Guerre published a set of harpsichord pieces as early as 1687. In 1707 she published a set of six sonatas for violin and figured bass, along with fourteen movements for harpsichord solo. These harpsichord pieces make up two suites, in D and G. “La Flamande et son double” in D minor, reproduced below, is actually an allemande with a varied repeat of each section. Its broad compass and abundant ornamentation follow the great tradition of the French clavecinistes, established by Chambonnieres and developed by Franҫois Couperin and others. The concluding Chaconne is an expansive and virtuosic set of variations.
La Guerre also wrote a volume of cantatas on traditional mythological subjects; it was dedicated to the Elector of Bavaria and published by Foucault, probably after 1715. (Her previous works had been dedicated to Louis XIV, who had died in that year.) A short comic duet for soprano and bass, “Le Raccommodement comique de Nicole et Pierrot,” is included in the collection. La Guerre explains in the score that there are just three cantatas (rather than the customary six), because each one is longer than usual. All three cantatas are scored for soprano and continuo, with symphonie.
Semelé is the first of the three cantatas and is included here in its first modern edition. It is based on the Greek myth of Semele, mistress of Zeus and mother of Dionysus. When Semele insists on knowing the identity of her lover, Zeus appears in the form of a thunderbolt, and Semele dies. She is later rescued from Hades by her son, and her return to Earth is associated with the yearly return of Spring. The three airs of Semelé , all in da capo form, are on a larger scale than those typically found in the cantatas of La Guerre’s contemporaries. The composer explains in her preface that they may be performed separately, if desired. The recitatives are typically French, in that there are frequent meter changes to accommodate the rhythm of the speech. The instruments, violin and continuo (with the suggestion of flute in the second air, “Quel triomphe”), are used in independent instrumental numbers and interludes. In certain recitatives and one air they provide contrast and intensify the expression of the text.
NARRATOR: Jupiter had made an indiscreet oath, to grant any wish to a faithful lover. Semele doubts the rank of her lover, and this doubt torments her; she aspires to see him in his immortal glory; but Love, out of pity for her, averts the moment of so fatal a pleasure! Semele however laments, frets. She complains of waiting overlong.
SEMELE: Can one not live in your bonds without suffering the pains of a mortal? Love, you promise a thousand gifts, but one finds none at all in your chains. A heart which has let itself be charmed must sacrifice all to its flame. My lover, if he were able to love, would forsee the desires of my soul.
NARRATOR: But what astonishing noise bursts forth in the air. What devastation; the thunderbolt roars, the sky opens; and the lightning flashes announce to me the master of the world.
SEMELE: What a great display, what a spectacle for me; forgive me, I was wrong to doubt your faithfulness. What triumph, what victory flatters my ambitious heart, is anything equal to my glory, I will enjoy the fate of the gods. I do not wish mystery to hide the happiness of my fetters; Let all know that I was able to please the greatest God of the universe. Ah! what sudden conflagration terrifies me, I see this palace catch fire; Ah! heaven! I feel myself consumed; Jupiter, what is the fate of your mistress! One desire has led me to the final misfortune. What horrible torment, I succumb, I die,”
NARRATOR: When Love binds us in his most engaging knots, let us not mix with his fires the ardour of a vain glory, let us not divide his desires; Splendour, supreme grandeur, were never a blessing. It is in a tender bond that one finds supreme happiness. Splendour, supreme grandeur are of no importance.
Recordings (of Suite in D minor)
Complete Harpsichord Works of Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre. Thurston Dart, harpsichord. London Edition of L’Oiseau-Lyre. OL 50183, 1959.
Keyboard Works by Women Composers. Nancy Fierro, piano. Avant Records, AV 1012.
Further Reading
Bates, Carol Henry. ‘The Instrumental Music of Elizabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre,” Ph.D. diss., Indiana University, 1978.
Borroff, Edith. An Introduction to Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre. Brooklyn, N. Y.: Institute of Mediaeval Music, 1966.
Elizabeth Jacquet de la Guerre
La Flamande
® 1965 by J. B. Hanson, Editions de l’Oiseau Lyre, Les Remparts, Monaco. Reprinted by permission.
Chaconne
Semelé, Cantate avec Simphonie
Elizabeth Jacquet de la Guerre
Source: Cantates franҫoises. Paris: Foucault, n.d. (PN Vm7. 161.) Printed by permission of Bibliothèque nationale, Paris. First modern edition by Susan Erickson and Robert Bloch. Continuo realization by Robert Bloch.
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