Born in Paris in 1705, Louis-Gabriel Guillemain is, together with Leclair, Guignon and, of course, Rameau, one of the most distinguished representatives of the gallant music popular in 18th century France, although, in many countries, he is perhaps the least well-known of those named.

The term “gallant music” has, ever since it became fashionable, been used to describe a courtesan style, that is, in the style of court musicians, which sought to delight and to please, with an apparent lightness that is characteristic of this music.

The person mainly responsible for this sweeping influence was Giovanni Battista Somis, an Italian violinist and composer whose fame spread throughout France thanks to his disciples, Leclair, Guignon and Guillemain; with them, the French school of violin opened up to the tradition of Corelli, who had been Somis’s master.