As a prominent female composer educated at the court of Louis the XIV, Elizabeth-Claude Jacquet de La Guerre already has a notable place in history. Among her compositions are a dozen cantatas based on Biblical texts. As most of her male counterparts primarily composed secular cantatas set to mythological texts, Jacquet de La Guerre’s sacred cantatas stand out as anomalous in the repertoire. Questions arise as to where they were performed and why they were written. The main barrier to this knowledge is the lack of primary sources on her daily life. This study proposes a new methodology to reevaluate Jacquet de La Guerre’s role in developing the French cantata form as a unique genre, further clarify the function and value of her sacred cantatas, and reconsider their place in the canon.
Traditional methodologies in historical musicology, though foundational and valuable, by nature obscure relevant insight and appreciation of these works, which defy traditional categorization. To fill in the gaps in primary sources and broaden and deepen our understanding of French sacred cantatas and Jacquet de La Guerre’s work, this study uses Bruno Latour’s Actor-Network Theory, a sociological and philosophical model for describing and assembling information, in combination with Steven Feld’s series of qualitative, ethnographic questions for music evaluation, a sociomusicological and ethnomusicological model introduced in his article “Sound Structure as Social Structure.” In doing so, this study markedly diverges in perspective from traditional musicological and theoretical approaches. The goal of this methodology is to first reexamine Jacquet de La Guerre scholarship as a check for inherited assumptions or unconscious bias in the approach and then proceed with critical inquiry in this fresh space to unpack the function and value of her sacred cantatas.
This study sheds light on the relatively rare and currently underperformed sacred cantata form in eighteenth century France, using Jacquet de La Guerre’s sacred cantatas as a case study. It finds that Jacquet de La Guerre’s sacred cantatas were experimental, progressive, and intellectual in form; likely meant for entertainment, edification, and instruction in function; and highly regarded in value. The methodology described and then employed in this study takes considerable strides in reassessing Jacquet de La Guerre’s activity as both a respected intellectual and celebrated composer in early modern France, in highlighting her role in developing the French cantata form, in clarifying the function and value of her sacred cantatas, and in demonstrating how this reassembled knowledge creates more informed and compelling performances of her music. / 2026-09-25T00:00:00Z
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/49339 |
| Date | 25 September 2024 |
| Creators | Randall, Laura Hairgrove |
| Contributors | Shenton, Andrew |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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