Born on 8 December 1732 in Le Mans, Joseph-René Tacet was the son of Jeanne Granal and Maurice Tacet, an instrument maker described by Les artistes Nantais as a skilled flute and oboe turner.

In the 1740s, the family moved to Nantes. His mother, Jeanne Grandval, died on 9 February 1748, followed shortly afterwards by his father, Maurice Tacet, on 27 April 1749. Joseph-René was present at his mother’s funeral, but not at his father’s: he may already have left Nantes for Paris.

It was in Paris that he trained under the flutist Michel Blavet, around 1749 and 1750. On 6 April 1751, he performed at the Concert Spirituel (this participation appears to have been limited to a single appearance).

In 1752–1753, he appears to have returned to Nantes; this is the address given on his marriage certificate when he married (in Caen) Élisabeth Delafosse, the daughter of a musician and dance master.

From 1755 onwards, Tacet began a career in London that spanned several decades. There he performed as a solo flutist in various theatres, notably at the Haymarket and the King’s Theatre, and took part in numerous concerts and oratorios, including at charity events. He collaborated in particular with the composer Barbandt on programmes combining oratorio and concertos.

His first appearance in London appears to have been on 13 February 1755: Tacet performed as a soloist at the Haymarket Theatre, playing a flute described as having been ‘improved’ by him. In 1762, his only daughter, Jeanne-Marianne, was born in London. His reputation in London is considerable, and his name is often associated with that of Pietro Grassi Florio; the two men appear to have dominated the London scene in the field of their instrument, and, above all, are credited with introducing flutes fitted with additional keys. This was first seen in 1765 in a treatise on the flute published by Fentum; the following year in another treatise published by Cahusac; and others followed until around 1780. Tacet is said to have taught pupils such as the Duchess of Hamilton, Miss Gardner, Sterne and Ferguson.

Following the death of his wife, between 1780 and 1785, Joseph Tacet returned to Nantes with his daughter. Having become a man of independent means, he appears to have settled there comfortably, likely within a well-to-do social circle. His connections with the local musical scene, however, remain poorly understood.

In the 1790s, the name Tacet is mentioned in Germany in Tromlitz’s An das Musikalische Publikum and Gerber’s Lexicon (1791), as well as in an advertisement by the Göttingen instrument maker J.F. Boie, who, in 1794, claimed to manufacture flutes in the style of the excellent models by Grenser in Dresden and Potter in London, the latter being fitted with pewter plugs, which he believed to be “a little-known invention by the Englishman Tacett”.

In 1792, Jeanne-Marianne married Mathieu-Guillaume-Thérèse Villenave in Nantes, a lawyer, journalist and prominent figure of the Revolution. Their marriage reflected an extensive social network, bringing together figures from the artistic and intellectual worlds. Their daughter, Mélanie Villenave-Waldor, born in 1796, went on to pursue a literary career in Paris. An independent woman of letters, she moved in high society circles and became the muse of Alexandre Dumas père, and later of Cavour.

Joseph-René Tacet died in Nantes on 6 September 1801 (19 Pluviôse Year IX), where he was recorded as a pensioner, a widower and a native of the Sarthe region. The final years of his life appear to have been far removed from the musical activity that had characterised his career.