The date and place of birth of Jean-Baptiste Quentin, brother of Bertin Quentin, are unknown. He was probably born around 1690. In 1715 he was a dessus de violon at the Académie Royale de Musique (Paris Opéra); by 1738, he was quinte de violon (a viola player) in the same orchestra. Jean-Baptiste Quentin was a regular at the salon of Madame and Mademoiselle Du Hallay, ‘two of the most beautiful and learned persons of their sex, and two great virtuosos on the harpsichord’ (Le Parnasse françois). Thus the salon in question, held in the rue de la Cerisaie, was the meeting-place of the finest musicians in Paris: Quentin associated there with Rameau, Roland Marais, Blavet, Daquin and Duphly, among others, which shows that the musical milieu placed him in the forefront of his profession.
The books of Sonates en trio et à quatre parties pour Violons, Flûtes Traversières, Viole et Basse Continue constitute the most innovative portion of his output, published from 1737 to 1742. Each of these books contains just one sonate en quatuor. The third sonata of op.15 is for the unusual combination of solo flute, solo violin, viol and cello. The bass part is not figured, which was a novel form of instrumentation at the time. [from the CD booklet Conversations par Nevermind, label Alpha].
