Desastre

François-Andre Danican Philidor , called Large the (September 7th 1726, Dreux - August 31st 1795, London), is a Compositeur and player of failures French.
Il will carry out face these two activities all its life.

He is the son of a second bed of André I says the Elder one.

Biography

The musician

François-Andre Danican is resulting from a dynasty famous musicians at the 17th century and the 18th century, which carried all the nickname of Philidor . Oldest of between-them, Michel, Hautboïste virtuoso, had filled with enthusiasm Louis XIII, pointing out to him the talent of the Italian Filidori.

At 6 years, it is page with the royal vault of Versailles where he is the pupil of Campra. It composes its first Motet with old 12 years. Is 14 years old, it gives lessons of music to Paris and exerts the trade of copyist. It meets Rameau for which it has a great admiration. But this last reproaches him for canting the French music with Italian forms. Of sound with dimensions Jean-Jacques Rousseau appreciates her collaboration to complete the gallant Muses. At 18 years, it démélés with the police force for daring remarks on freedom of expression. He is even imprisoned during two weeks.

Scalded, it accompanies a troop by musicians with Geminiani and Lanza in Holland, then goes to London where it binds with the count de Brühl, minister from Saxony to London, which will become with Diderot, his/her most faithful friend. Haendel is shown more favorable to its music than Rameau.

Returned to France in 1754, it cannot obtain the vacant post with the Vault of Versailles. He marries in 1760 Angelica Richer, girl of a musician, who will give him seven children.

Its crowned works, tinted Italianism, are coldly accommodated by the French public. It is solved to direct its career towards the ways of the dramatic music and becomes one of the creators of the French Op3era Comique. It shown real musical qualities there: neat, often descriptive orchestral writing; vocal writing easy and testifying to a liveliness light, parodic, being able to rise until an already dramatic expression; the choruses are abundant in a daring writing. Its many light operas shows inventiveness, and the first of between-them, Blaise the Cobbler , created with the Op3era Comique of the Fair in 1759, is a bright success. The opera Ernelinde is its masterpiece and allows him to obtain a pension of Louis XV.
Il also composed of the chamber music, a Oratorio, Carmen seculare and a Te Deum , which was carried out at the time of the funeral of Rameau.
Its name is reproduced on the Western frontage of the Opéra Garnier in Paris.

The player of failures

Today, its name remains more associated with the Jeu with failures. Very young person, he attends the Café of the Regency where he meets Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He shows a great control in practice (demonstration of play as a blind man) and shows himself very advances some on the theorization of the play. He outclasses quickly the Lord de Legal, better player of the Coffee of Regency.

In London, it disputes a match in 1747 against the Syrian Stamma fixed at London since 1742. It beats it 8 to 2 and it is consequently regarded as the strongest player of the world. It publishes the Analysis of the play of the failures in 1749, at the 22 years age, one of the first treaties of failures in French language and traditional of the kind. The work will be published a hundred times and will be translated quickly in many languages: English ( Analysis off the Range off Chess , 1790), German, Spanish ( Análisis LED juego of will ajedrez , 1827), Russian, Yiddish, etc

The term of Analysis mark of entry rupture with the former designs. Whereas the play rested primarily on qualities of intuition and imagination, Philidor the pupil with the statute of science and constitutes a rational system of which it provides the first the essential laws. He insists on the importance of the pawns, and in particular of the chains of pawns.

One owes him the famous maxim “the pawns are the heart of the failures” and the position of Philidor , very important for the end of part Tour and pawn against Tour. Its analysis of the end of Tower part and Fou against Tour still makes authority. In its work “the Analysis of the Play of the failures” it studies the opening which bears its name (the Défense Philidor): 1. e4 e5 2. Cf3 d6

It goes back to London (1771-1773) where it attends St James Chess Club, earning its living by making parts of exhibitions.

Living pensions of the King and in favor of a constitutional monarchy, it is exiled in England in 1792. It is registered on the list of the suspects and, in spite of the efforts of his wife and her oldest son remained in France, a passport to return is refused to him after Thermidor. He dies in his London residence and is buried with St James de Picadilly.

Principal works

Opera S

Blaise the cobbler (1759)
the Misunderstanding or the unsteady one fixed (1759)
the Gardener and his lord (1761)
Marshal-Shoeing It (1761)
Sancho Pança in its island (1762)
the Logger or the three wishes (1763)
the Wizard (1764)
Tom Jones (1765), based on the novel of Fielding
Ernelinde, princess of Norway (1767), revised in 1769 pennies the title of Sandomar, prince of Denmark
the Gardener of Sidon (1768)
the disguised Lover or the gardener supposed (1769)
the New School of the women (1770)
the Well of love (1779)
Friendship at the village (1785)
Thémistocle (1786)
the Beautiful Slave (1788)
Bélisaire (1796, posthumous opera)

Other important musical works

Lauda Jerusalem motet writes in 1754
Carmen saeculare drawn from the odes of Horace

Books

Analysis of the play of the failures (1749, rééd. 1803,1988), rééd. facsimile 1988 by the editions Neumann and Jean-Jacques Pauvert

Reference

J. - F. Dupont-Danican - “ For Philidor - Eine Gedenkschrift ” (1994, collection of German articles, French and English), ED. H. - W. Fink, Coblentz, Germany

External bonds

''Cesar.org.uk'': its operas and their representations;
''Mjae.com'': site of the Survey firm Philidoriennes;
''Resmusica'': biographical summary with discography and bibliography;
''Musicmac'': page with some frontispieces;
''Siliconvalley'': interesting biography.
article by Dany Sénéchaud on Resmusica.com.

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