Philidor, André (EN)

Philidor, Danican Philidor, born Danican, André, known as l’Aîné, *ca. 1652 Paris (?), †11 August 1730 Dreux, French musical librarian, composer, and instrumentalist, son of Jean. From 1659 to 1682 he was a member of the royal musical ensembles: from 1659 in the Cromornes et Trompettes Marines, from 1678 in the Fifres et Tambours, and from 1681 in the exclusive group of the 12 Grands Hautbois du Roi. Between 1667 and 1677 he also served as an oboist in the corps of the royal musketeers. He played a variety of wind and percussion instruments and owned a collection of 33 instruments, including oboes, flutes, trombones, court bagpipes, and drums.

In the history of French music, he is remembered primarily as a librarian and copyist. From around 1684 he likely served as royal music librarian, initially together with the violinist F. Fossard, and from 1702 independently. André Philidor collected both contemporary works (operas, ballets, motets, and others) and older repertory such as songs, dances, and marches performed at court since the reign of Francis I. He was fully aware of the historical value of his work. If it weren’t for his enthusiasm for collecting and copying both older and contemporary works, many of them would have been lost. Of the 59 volumes of manuscripts, beautifully bound and bearing the coat of arms of Louis XIV (including works by J.-B. Lully, H. Desmarets, A. Campra, A.C. Destouches, O. de Lasso, and L. Roni), only about half survive today. The collection known as the Philidor Collection is now held in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, while another significant portion is preserved in the Bibliothèque Municipale of Versailles.

Literature: E.H. Fellowes The Philidor Manuscripts, “Music and Letters” XII, 1931; F. Waquet Philidor l’aîné, “Revue de Musicologie” LXVI, 1980; J.-F. and N. Dupont-Danican Philidor Les Philidor. Une dynastie de musiciens, Paris 1995; N. Dupont-Danican Philidor Les Philidor. Répertoire des oeuvres, généalogie, bibliographie, Paris 1997.