![André Danican Philidor](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Andr%C3%A9_Danican_Philidor.jpg)
André Danican Philidor the elder
rench: ''l'aîné''(,
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...
– 11 August 1730,
Dreux
Dreux () is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France.
Geography
Dreux lies on the small river Blaise, a tributary of the Eure, about 35 km north of Chartres. Dreux station has rail connections to Argentan, Paris and Granvi ...
), a member of the
Philidor
Philidor (''Filidor'') or Danican Philidor was a family of musicians that served as court musicians to the French kings. The original name of the family was Danican (D'Anican) and was of Scottish origin (Duncan). Philidor was a later addition to t ...
family of French musicians and referred to as André Danican Philidor ''le père'' after 1709, was a music librarian, instrumentalist, and
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
.
[Harris-Warrick 2001.] He is chiefly known as the organizer and principal copyist of what is now known as the Philidor Collection of
French Baroque
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...
manuscript
scores.
Career as a librarian and copyist
He was appointed ''Garde de la Bibliothèque de la Musique du Roi'' (Keeper of the King's Music Library) sometime before 1684,
[Anthony 1997, p. 27.] although in 1694 he claimed to have been working as music librarian for 30 years.
[ Philidor occupied the position jointly with the violinist François Fossard (1642–1702), until Fossard's death, after which Philidor held it alone.][ In 1694 he and Fossard received a '' privilège'' to print music written for the court, but they only published the anthology ''Airs italiens'' (Paris, 1690–1710).
]
Philidor Collection
Philidor's ''atelier'' prepared manuscript copies of much of the music performed at the Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 19 ...
during the reign of Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Vers ...
, as well as some dating back to the reign of Henri IV
Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...
. The earliest known copy is dated 1681.[ Besides music performed at court, he also copied music composed for other royal patrons and aristocrats.][ At least nine copyists were employed, including Fossard; Philidor's son-in-law, Jean-Louis Schwartzenberg (1684–1736), called Le Noble; one of three Ferriers, who were wind players at court; and his son, ]Anne Danican Philidor Anne Danican Philidor (11 April 1681 – 8 October 1728) was a French woodwind player and composer of the Philidor family. Born in Paris on 11 April 1681, his grandfather and father were also professional woodwind players in the king's service. A ...
, the first of Philidor's twenty-one children.[
Philidor manuscripts are now found in many private collections and libraries. ]Nicolas Roze
Nicolas Roze (17 January 1745 – 30 September 1819) was a French composer and music theorist.
Biography
Born in Mercurey, Roze was a choirboy at the , Nicolas Roze was noted for his beautiful voice and received a good musical training. He was ...
inventoried 59 volumes in the library of the Paris Conservatory
The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...
early in the 19th century. Now known as the Philidor Collection, over the years nearly half have been lost. Some of the lost volumes included music by members of the Philidor family. The remaining volumes were dispersed, with surviving copies located in libraries at Paris and Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...
, primarily the Bibliothèque nationale de France
The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...
(which also has a number of other volumes with works copied by Philidor's atelier) and the . A large number of manuscripts that Philidor prepared for the Count of Toulouse
The count of Toulouse ( oc, comte de Tolosa, french: comte de Toulouse) was the ruler of county of Toulouse, Toulouse during the 8th to 13th centuries. Originating as vassals of the kingdom of the Franks, Frankish kings,
the hereditary counts ru ...
were owned by St Michael's College, Tenbury. When these were sold in 1978, a number of volumes returned to France (Paris and Versailles).[
]
As an instrumentalist
Philidor ''l'aîné'' was appointed to a position previously held by his uncle, , in the Cromorne
Cromorne is a French woodwind instrument, woodwind reed instrument of uncertain identity, used in the early Baroque period in French court music. The name is sometimes confused with the similar-sounding name crumhorn, a musical woodwind instrumen ...
s et Trompettes Marines in 1659. He played oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range.
A ...
in the royal musketeers from 1667 to 1677; appears in libretto
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...
s of Lully
Jean-Baptiste Lully ( , , ; born Giovanni Battista Lulli, ; – 22 March 1687) was an Italian-born French composer, guitarist, violinist, and dancer who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he ...
's ballets and operas as a player of a variety of wind and percussion instruments from 1670; played drum in the Fifres et Tambours and was a member of the 12 Grands Hautbois du Roi in 1681; was ''ordinaire de la musique de la chapelle'' from 1682; and became one of four wind players to join the Petits Violons in 1690. In 1714 he owned 33 instruments, including oboes, flutes, recorders, bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...
s, oboe musette The piccolo oboe, also known as the piccoloboe and historically called an oboe musette (or just musette), is the smallest and highest pitched member of the oboe family. Pitched in E or F above the regular oboe (i.e. notated a minor third or perfect ...
, and drums.[
]
As a composer
He probably composed occasional pieces throughout his career and began composing for the stage ('' opéras-ballets''[Sadie 1990, p. 136]) after Lully's death in 1687. He may have hoped to be appointed to Lully's post of ''surintendant'' of the king's music, but in 1689 the position went to Michel-Richard de Lalande
Michel Richard Delalande e Lalande'' (; 15 December 1657 – 18 June 1726) was a French Baroque composer and organist who was in the service of King Louis XIV. He was one of the most important composers of grands motets. He also wrote orch ...
instead.[
]
Notes
Bibliography
* Anthony, James R. (1997). ''French Baroque Music from Beaujoyeulx to Rameau'', revised and extended edition. Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press. .
* Carissimi, Giacomo ( 690–1710. ''Partition de Plusieurs Airs Italiens'', copied by François Fossard, copied and edited by André Philidor. Paris.
Online copy
at Gallica.
* Fellowes, Edmund H. (1931). "The Philidor Manuscripts: Paris, Versailles, Tenbury", ''Music & Letters
''Music & Letters'' is an academic journal published quarterly by Oxford University Press with a focus on musicology. The journal sponsors the Music & Letters Trust, twice-yearly cash awards of variable amounts to support research in the music fie ...
'', vol. 12, no. 2 (April), (). .
* Harris-Warrick, Rebecca; Marsh, Carol G. (1994). ''Musical Theatre at the Court of Louis XIV: 'Le mariage de la grosse Cathos' ''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. .
* Harris-Warrick, Rebecca (2001). "Philidor: (1) André Danican Philidor l'aîné" in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...
'', 2nd edition. London: Macmillan. (hardcover). (eBook). Also a
Oxford Music Online
(subscription required).
* Massip, Catherine (1983). "La collection musicale Toulouse-Philidor à la Bibliothèque nationale", ''Fontes Artis Musicae'', vol. 30, no. 4 (October–December), pp. 184–207. . .
* Rushton, Julian
Julian Gordon Rushton (born 22 May 1941) is an English musicologist, born in Cambridge. He has contributed the entry on Mozart in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' and several other articles in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians' ...
(1992). "Philidor, François-André Danican", vol. 3, , in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera
''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volu ...
'', 4 volumes, edited by Stanley Sadie
Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...
. London: Macmillan. . Also a
Oxford Music Online
(subscription required).
* Sadie, Julie Anne (1990). ''Companion to Baroque Music''. New York: Schirmer Books. .
* Tessier, André (1931). "Un fonds musical de la bibliothèque de Louis XIV: la collection Philidor", ''La Revue musicale
''La Revue musicale'' was a music magazine founded by Henry Prunières in 1920. ''La Revue musicale'' of Prunières was undoubtedly the first music publishing magazine giving as much attention to the quality of editing, iconography, and illustrat ...
'', nos. 111–115 (April), (). .
* (1980). "Philidor l'aîné, ordinaire de la Musique du Roy et garde de tous les livres de sa Bibliothèque de Musique", ', vol. 66, no. 2, (). .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Philidor, Andre Danican The Elder
17th-century classical composers
French Baroque composers
French male classical composers
French classical oboists
Male oboists
1652 births
1730 deaths
People from Versailles
French people of Scottish descent
Music librarians
17th-century male musicians