Archive | F

(1) The name of the fourth degree of the natural scale of C both in English and German, the French and Italian name being Fa. Further nomenclature is as follows : E n g l i s h . F r e n c h . G e r m a n . I t a l i a n . F flat. F a h&nol. Fes. F a bemolle. F double flat. F a double bemol. Feses. F a doppio bemolle. F sharp. F a di

a Spanish dance in triple time to a lively tune, accompanied by guitar and castanets, with violin and other instruments ad lib. I t seems to have been introduced into Spain from South America, and is first mentioned in an anonymous entremes, * El novio de la aldeana ' (A village maiden's lover), at the beginning of the 18th century. The original words are a grotesque parody of a serenade. The fandango in 4 Figaro * is taken from Gluck's ballet ' Don Juan,' and resembles the Basque form. (I t is printed as an appendix to Jahn's Mozart.) The Southern Spanish type is different, and has given rise to many modern popular songs and dances (e.g. 4 Granadinas,' ' Malagueiias,' 4 Murcianas,' 4 Rondenas,' etc.) ending on the dominant, to which the accompaniment descends by a semitone, with the cadence a-g-f-e. J . b . t .

(b. Moulins, Jan. 15, 1830 ; d. Paris, Nov. 9, 1914), famous baritone, was the son of a singer in the cathedral at Moulins.1 When he was 3 the family removed to Paris, and when he was 7 his father died. In 1843 he entered the solfeggio class in the Conservatoire, and soon after the maitrise of the Madeleine, where he was under Trevaux, an excellent teacher, to whom he owed his sound knowledge of music. After the breaking of his voice he took up the piano and double bass, and was for some time a member of the band at the Odeon theatre. When his voice had recovered he joined the chorus of the Theatre Italien ; in Nov. 1850 again entering the Conservatoire, obtained (1852) first prizes for singing and for opera-comique. Ho made his debut Oct. 20, 1852, a t the Opera-Comique, in Masse's ' Galatliee,' after which he advanced steadily through various roles until his creation of the parts of Justin in Grisar's ' Chien du jardinier ' ; the Duke of Greenwich in Auber's ' Jenny Bell ' in 1855; the Marquis d'Herigny in Auber's ' Manon Lescaut ' ; the Marquis de Valbreuse in Clapisson's ' Sylphe ' 2 in 1856 ; Crevecccur in G evaert's ' Quentin Durward ' in 1858 ; Hoel in Meyerbeer's ' Pardon du Ploermel ' in 1859 placed him in the front rank. On Sept. 28, 1801, he made his first appearance a t the Opera as Julien de Medicis in Poniatowski's ' Pierre do Medicis,' and remained there as principal baritone for nearly soventeen years. His new parts were in Masse's ' La Mule de Pedro ' in 1863 ; Nelusko in ' L'Africaine,' Apr. 26, 1865, chosen for this part by Meyerbeer himself ; the Marquis de Posa in Verdi's ' Don Carlos ' in 1867 ; the title part in Thomas's ' Hamlet,' 1868 ; Mephistopheles on the first performance of ' Faust ' 3 at the Opera, Mar. 3, 1869 ; Paddock in Diaz's 1 Coupe du Roi de Thule,' and Charles VII. in Mermet's ' Jeanne d'Arc ' in 1876. He made his final appearance there on May 13, 1876, in his great part Hamlet, in which his acting was founded 1 Alller. 2 F ir s t p roduced a t B aden-Baden. Faure achieved a notable tour de force therein, singing baritone on the stage and tenor behind the scenes. 3 He had previously played this p a r t in London, during four seasons, 1863-66 on his boyish recollections of Macready1 in that part in Paris. In London he first appeared at Covent Garden, Apr. 10, 1860, as Hoel, and returned there every season until 1866, excepting 1865. His parts included Don Juan, Figaro in ' Le Nozze,' Tell, Assur, Fernando in ' La Gazza Ladra,' Alfonso XI., Pietro in 1 Masaniello,' Rudolph in ' Sonnambula,' St. Bris, Peter the Great, and, on July 2,1863, Mephistopheles on production of ' Faust.' in which he has never been surpassed. In 1870 he played, at Drury Lane, Iago in the revival of Rossini's ' Otcllo ' ; Lotario on the production in England of ' Mignon,' etc. From 1871-75 inclusive he was again at Covent Garden, for the first time there as Hamlet, Caspar, and the Cacique on the production of Gomez's 1 Guarany.' In 1876 he sang at Drury Lane ; and in 1877 at Her Majesty's for the first time in England as De Nevers, and Alfonso in 1 Lucrezia,' which part he played, May 19, 1877, on the occasion of the last appearance on the stage of Therese Tiet jens. From 1857-60 he taught singing at the Paris Conservatoire. In 1870-72 he sang with great success in opera at Brussels, and on Jan. 27, 1872, was appointed inspector of the singing classes at the Conservatoire there.2 In 1861 he appeared at Berlin at Meyerbeer's request, but the tremolo in his voice did not please the Germans. In 1878, however, he sang in Italian at Vienna with the greatest success in two of his best parts, Don Juan and Mephistopheles, and was appointed by the Emperor of Austria ' Imperial Chamber Singer.' In 1859 he married Mademoiselle Lefebvre (1828-1905), tho chief actress of Dugazon roles at the Opera-Comique. Ho published two books of songs (Heugel) and La Voix et le chant, traite pratique (1886) ; Aux Jeunes Chanteurs (1898). (2) His son, Maurice (b. May 11, 1862; d. Feb. 7, 1915), was a landscape painter. B ib l.-H. d e Curzo n, Croquis d 'artistes (1898); J . B . Faure (Paris, 19'23). c . a l ] ( | n S i A (-_ a n ( J >1. l . P .

opera in 3 acts ; words by Esmenard and De Jouy, after Piron ; music by Spontini. Produced Academie Imperiale, Nov. 28, 1809 ; at Dresden, Mar. 1812 ; after revision by the composer, Paris, May 28, 1817 ; Berlin, Apr. 20, 18!8.

is a stop or set of pipes in an organ sounding two octaves, or fifteen notes, above the Open diapason.

(Ital.), literally ' flourishes,' that is, those ornamental figures, either ex temporised by performers or written by the composer to decorate the outline of a melody (ef. F l o r id ). Fioriture belong especially to the art of the singer and reached their height in the Italian opera of the 18th century. (See Ca d e n z a ; E x t em po r isa t io n ; Or n am e n t s .) c.

a string quartet party established in New York by Edward J. De Coppet of that city, which has acquired an international reputation. D e Co p p e t (b. New York, May 28, 1855 ; d. there, Apr. 30, 1916), was a banker of Swiss descent. The Flonzaley Quartet was organised in 1902, at first for private performances in his own house, with the stipulation that the members should devote themselves entirely to rehearsing and playing quartets together. The original members were Adolfo Betti, Alfred Pochon, Ugo Ara and Iwan d'Archambeau. The name ' Flonzaley ' w'as that of De Coppet's summer estate near Lake Geneva in Switzerland, where the first rehearsals were held. In 1904 the Quartet made a European tour with great success, and since then has given public concerts regularly in the United States and in Europe, the finish, brilliancy and beautiful tonal quality of its playing being everywhere recognised. In 1917 Ara left the Quartet to join the Italian army and his place was taken by Louis Bailly, who left it in 1924, being succeeded by Felicien d'Archambeau, brother of Iwan. Since Edward J. De Coppet's death, his support of the organisation has been continued by his son, Andre De Coppet. r . a .

was in the service of Alfonso II., d' Este, at Modena from Apr . 1586 as * gentiluomo,' 1598 as ' maestro di camera.' On June 15,1605, he settled in Rome, where he was still living in 1608. His contemporaries held him in high esteem as a composer, and Orazio Vecchi re-edited in 1603 his first book of madrigals (5 v. ; first published in 1595). The second book, published in 1604, had two more editions in 1609 and 1619. A few single songs are in collective volumes (see Q.-L.).

The connexion of Handel with this charitable institution (founded by Captain Coram in 1739) forms a pleasant episode in the composer's life in England, and gives a signal illustration of his benevolence. Following the example of the masters of the sister art of painting, who organised an exhibition on its behalf, and of Hogarth and others, who presented paintings for its decoration, Handel, on May 4, 1749, attended a committee at the Hospital and offered a performance i VOL. II FOUGT of vocal and instrumental music in aid of the fund for finishing the chapel.1 The Gentleman's Magazine records t h a t : * S a tu rd a y 2 7 th [May] th e P rihcc an d Prince ss of Wales, with a g re a t n um b e r of persons of quality a n d d is tin c tio n , were a t th e chapel of th e Foundling's Ho sp i ta l to he a r several pieces of vocal an d in s t ru men tal musick, compos'd b y George F red er ick Handel, Esq., for th e benefit of th e fo u n d a t io n : 1st, th e musick for th e la te Fire Works an d th e a n th em on th e Peac e ; 2nd, select pieces from th e o ra to r io of Solomon relatin g to th e d edication of th e Temple ; a n d 3rd, several pieces composed for th e occasion, th e words ta k en from Scripture, applicable to th e ch a r i ty a n d i t s benefactors. There was no collection, b u t th e tick e t s were a t half-a-guinea, a n d th e audience above a th o u s a n d .' The music specially written was the anthem 4 Blessed are they that consider the poor.' The governors, under a misapprehension, imagined that he intended to present them with the copyright of his oratorio 4 Messiah,' and prepared a petition to Parliament praying that a bill might be passed to secure to them the right in perpetuity; but Handel indignantly repudiated any such intention, and the petition never reached the House. On the completion of the chapel Handel presented it with an organ,2 built by a Dr. Morse of Barnet, which he opened on May 1, 1750, when the attendance was so large that he was compelled to repeat the performance. For his generosity Handel was in 1750 enrolled as one of the governors and guardians of the Hospital, and during every subsequent year, while his health permitted, he directed tho performance of the 'Messiah' in the chapel, which yielded to the charity a net result of .7000 in all. The composer by his will bequeathed 4 a fair copy of the score and all the parts of the Messiah' to the Hospital, and on his death a dirge and funeral were performed in the chapel on May 26, 1759, under the direction of his amanuensis, John Christopher Smith, w ho, with his full concurrence, had been appointed the first organist, and who had conducted the performance of the 4 Messiah ' on May 3, three weeks after the composer's death. The artistic value of the bequest was not quite fully realised until the parts were examined by H. Davan Wetton, organist from 1892, and proved to be of great importance. In July 1774 Dr. Burney proposed to the governors a scheme for forming a Public Music School at the Hospital for the training of the children ; but strong opposition was raised to it, and it was never proceeded with. The chapel services were for many years noteworthy for their music, in which the professional choir was assisted by the children. c. M.

opera; libretto by H. von Hofmannsthal, music by Strauss. Produced Vienna, Oct. 1919.