DAQUIN, LOUIS-CLAUDE

born July 4, 1694, Paris died June 15, 1772, Paris French harpsichordist, organist, and composer of keyboard music whose playing was noted for its neatness and precision and whose music was admired for its gentle charm. The godson of the composer lisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, Daquin was a prodigy who played before Louis XIV at the age of six. By the age of 12 he was a professional organist, and, after a series of appointments he became organist in the Chapel Royal in 1739. He published Premier livre de pices de clavecin (1735; First Book of Pieces for the Harpsichord), containing his best-known work, Le Coucou, and a successful collection of carols, Nols pour l'orgue et le clavecin.