Jacques Hardel (died March 1678) was a French composer and harpsichordist. He came from a family that included two noted instrument makers: his grandfather Gilles Hardel (fl. ca. 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 wor