An instrumentalist at the French court, Andre Danican Philidor became a member of the "grande ecurie" in 1659 and as a drummer entered service in the chamber musicians of the king. Andre was an instrumentalist who played the oboe, bassoon and crumhorn but his import lies with his service to the court at Versailles as a librarian. He collected numerous works, fifty nine volumes in the Philidor Collection alone. Philidor organized the library and copied a number of works in addition to collecting musical compositions. Though he is not known for his compositions he reportedly competed with Lully in fanfare scorings. He also composed operas-ballets and was granted land at Versailles as early as 1683 being one of the favorites of the court.