Daquin, Louis-Claude

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Daquin, Louis-Claude

Daquin, Louis-Claude , French organist and composer; b. Paris, July 4, 1694; d. there, June 15, 1772. He was a pupil of Marchand. At the age of 6 he played on the clavecin before Louis XIV, and at 12 he became organist at St.-Antoine, where his playing attracted crowds of curious listeners. From 1727 until his death he was organist at St.-Paul, having won the position in competition with Rameau. He publ. a book of Pièces de clavecin (Paris, 1735; contains the celebrated piece Le Coucou; first complete modern ed. by C. Hogwood, London, 1983), a collection of Noels pour I’orgue ou le clavecin (reprinted by Guilmant in Archives des Maitres de I’Orgue), and a cantata, La Rose.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire