Jacques Hardel
Encyclopedia
Jacques Hardel was a French
composer
and harpsichord
ist. He came from family that included two noted instrument makers: his grandfather Gilles Hardel (fl.
c. 1611) and his father Guillaume Hardel (died 1676), who was a lute
maker and a well-established harpsichordist—in 1673–4 he served as harpsichord teacher to the daughter of Philippe d'Orléans
. Practically nothing is known about Jacques Hardel's life. He was a pupil of Jacques Champion de Chambonnières
and achieved a very high reputation at the court, at one point giving concerts for the King every week, performing together with the lutenist Porion. For several years he lived together with a pupil, a "Gautier" who remains unidentified today. The two men shared a close friendship, and Hardel bequeathed all of his works to his Gautier.
Unfortunately, only eight pieces by Hardel are extant today. These are a courante
for lute, a six-movement harpsichord suite in D minor, and a harpsichord gavotte
. All of the harpsichord works are of the highest quality, displaying Hardel's perfect grasp of his teacher's techniques, particularly Chambonnières's strong sense of the melodic line, which in Hardel's works is augmented with advanced bass writing, tightening the harmony and working towards a more progressive sound. The suite, which consists of an allemande
, three courantes, a sarabande
, and a gigue
, is one of the earliest examples of a complete "classical" French suite. The lute courante may be a transcription of a lost harpsichord piece.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
ist. He came from family that included two noted instrument makers: his grandfather Gilles Hardel (fl.
Floruit
Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
c. 1611) and his father Guillaume Hardel (died 1676), who was a lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
maker and a well-established harpsichordist—in 1673–4 he served as harpsichord teacher to the daughter of Philippe d'Orléans
Philippe I, Duke of Orléans
Philippe of France was the youngest son of Louis XIII of France and his queen consort Anne of Austria. His older brother was the famous Louis XIV, le roi soleil. Styled Duke of Anjou from birth, Philippe became Duke of Orléans upon the death of his uncle Gaston, Duke of Orléans...
. Practically nothing is known about Jacques Hardel's life. He was a pupil of Jacques Champion de Chambonnières
Jacques Champion de Chambonnières
Jacques Champion de Chambonnières was a French harpsichordist, dancer and composer. Born into a musical family, Chambonnières made an illustrious career as court harpsichordist in Paris and was considered by many of his contemporaries to be one of the greatest musicians in Europe...
and achieved a very high reputation at the court, at one point giving concerts for the King every week, performing together with the lutenist Porion. For several years he lived together with a pupil, a "Gautier" who remains unidentified today. The two men shared a close friendship, and Hardel bequeathed all of his works to his Gautier.
Unfortunately, only eight pieces by Hardel are extant today. These are a courante
Courante
The courante, corrente, coranto and corant are some of the names given to a family of triple metre dances from the late Renaissance and the Baroque era....
for lute, a six-movement harpsichord suite in D minor, and a harpsichord gavotte
Gavotte
The gavotte originated as a French folk dance, taking its name from the Gavot people of the Pays de Gap region of Dauphiné, where the dance originated. It is notated in 4/4 or 2/2 time and is of moderate tempo...
. All of the harpsichord works are of the highest quality, displaying Hardel's perfect grasp of his teacher's techniques, particularly Chambonnières's strong sense of the melodic line, which in Hardel's works is augmented with advanced bass writing, tightening the harmony and working towards a more progressive sound. The suite, which consists of an allemande
Allemande
An allemande is one of the most popular instrumental dance forms in Baroque music, and a standard element of a suite...
, three courantes, a sarabande
Sarabande
In music, the sarabande is a dance in triple metre. The second and third beats of each measure are often tied, giving the dance a distinctive rhythm of quarter notes and eighth notes in alternation...
, and a gigue
Gigue
The gigue or giga is a lively baroque dance originating from the British jig. It was imported into France in the mid-17th century and usually appears at the end of a suite...
, is one of the earliest examples of a complete "classical" French suite. The lute courante may be a transcription of a lost harpsichord piece.