Viol player and composer. At five years of age he played for Louis XIV who brought him into the court musical establishment and named him royal chamber musician in 1689. A favorite at court, where he was an associate of François Couperin and Robert de Visée, he had many noble pupils and was a famed performer on the bass viol, as was his son Jean-Baptiste. His Italianate style contrasted with that of his contemporary and rival Marin Marais, a student of Lully. He retired to Mantes in the 1720s. Some of his works are included in the Pieces de viol ... composée par Mr Forqueray le père, published by his son in 1747.