Categories
Baroque French

PHILIDOR, André-Danican

Born in (probably) Paris, c. 1652
Died in Dreux, Aug 11, 1730

Name somestime spelled Filidor

  • Philidor was a member of a French family of musicians who worked for the royal family.
  • André-Danican Philidor l’aîné  [the eldest] (aka le père) was a woodwind player and percussionist, music librarian and composer who served the French court, starting under the directorship of Lully.
  • Philidor l’aîné undertook a massive project to preserve the music in the royal collection, from the reign of Louis XIV all the way back to Henri IV (who ruled France from 1589-1610). He copied and hence preserved huge numbers of historic French works.1

Short biography

Sources

  1. Rebecca Harris-Warrick and Julian Rushton, “Philidor [Filidor] family,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed November 19, 2019,  https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000042637.