(b. Lichtenfels; d. Oelsnitz, Feb. 26, 1552), studied at Wittenberg University in 1542. He was rector of the monastery school of St. George a t Naumburg, from whence he was expelled in 1549 for writing derisive songs against the Pope. In 1551 he was lecturer on music at Wittenberg University, and thence went to Oelsnitz as rector of the school. He wrote Compendiolum musicae pro incipientibus, which appeared in numerous editions and translations between 1552 and 1665 (some undated) ; and Ad Musicam practicam introductio, several editions between 1550 and 1571 (Riemann). (2) B e n e d ik t , teacher and choir singer under Melchior Franck at Coburg, 1602-31, composed psalms (8 v.), cantiones sacrae (4-8 v., 1604), and some cantatas (Q.-L.).
Archive | F
FANISKA
opera in 3 acts ; words by Sonnleithner; music by Cherubini; produced Karnthnerthor Theatre, Vienna, Feb. 25, 1806.
FAVART, (1)CHARLES SIMON
(b. Paris, Nov. 13, 1710; d. Belleville, Paris, May 18, 1792), author of French comedy, was the son of a pastry-cook, and made his debut at the Opera- Comique with ' Les Deux Jumelles ' in 1734, producing ' La Chercheuse d'esprit * in 1741. He was regisseur (not director) of Monnet's Theatre, and after its suppression in 1745 was called by the Marechal de Saxe to direct the Brussels theatre and to give performances to the armies in Flanders, 1745. After the Opera- Comique reopened in 1752, Favart gave, until 1779, at that theatre, at the Comedie-italienne and at the court 100 pieces, parodies, etc., often in collaboration with his wife (2), with Fagan, Panard, Laujon and especially the Abbe Voisenon. He succeeded (1757) Monnet with Corby and others. He was in correspondence (1759-70) with the Count Durazzo, intendant of the Imperial Theatre at Vienna. The latter charged him with the task of engraving the score of the Italian version of Gluck's * Orfeo ' (1764). After 1759 he supplied to Gluck the libretto of ' Cythere assicgee,* produced, but without success, at the Opera, 1775. Favart's other principal musical collaborators are Ciampi (' Ninette a la cour,' 1755), Duni (' La Fee Urgele,' 1765), ' Les Moissonneurs,' 1765), Philidor (' Le Jardinier suppose,' 1769), Blaise (' Annette et Lubin,' 1762, ' La Rosiere de Salency,' 1789), Gretry (' L'Amitie a l'epreuve,' 1771). Favart helped to modify the style of op.racomique. Voltaire wrote to him (Oct. 3, 1775): ' Vous embellissez to u t ce que vous touohez. C'est vou9 qui le premier formates un spectacle r^gulier et ingenieux d 'un theatre qui, avant vous, n '^ ta it pas fait pour la bonne compagnie. II est devenu, grSce k vos soins, le charme de tous les honn6tes gens.' Favart, contrary to the opinion of Petit de Julleville (Histoire de la langue et de la litteralure fratigaise, vi. p. 632), was not a partisan of ' ariettes ' (new airs), but he had to follow the taste of about 1760, without ceasing altogether to preserve the * vaudevilles * (known airs) in his works. The Italian comedians accorded Favart a pension of 800 livres in 1769, then of 1400 after the death of his wife. The name of ' Salle Favart ' has remained at the Opera- Comique, built in 1780, burnt both in 1838 and 18S7, and rebuilt in 1840 and 1897. (2) Ma r ie - J u s t in e -B en o is t e D uro nceray (called Mile. Ch a n t il ly ) (b. Avignon, Vaucluse, June 15, 1727 ; d. Paris, Apr. 21, 1772), daughter of Andre Rene Cabaret du Ronceray and Perrette Claudine Bied, musicians of the chapel of the King of Poland. She was a French dancer and singer. She appeared in 1744 at the Opera-Comique as 4 premiere danseuse du Roi de Pologne.' After the suppression of this theatre she married Charles Simon Favart, Dec. 18, 1745, and went with him to Flanders. She went to the Comedie- ' italienne (May 3, 1751), and appeared for twenty-one years in tho majority of the pieces ! produced at that theatre. She played the ' roles of soubrettes, lovers, peasants, simple j parts and character parts. She was the first | to give local colour to the parts in her costumes, ! and her example was followed at the Comedie- I franchise. She obtained her greatest success in ' La serva padrona ' (Pergolese) in 1754, in ' Bastien et Bastiennc,' a parody of Rousseau's I ' Devin du village ' (1753, in collaboration with Harny), ' Annette e t L u b in ' (1762, the true authors of which were Favart and Lourdet de Santerre), and in her husband's w?orks (see above). In contrast to Colle and Grimm, who are | very severe on her, Mme. Favart was judged very favourably by all her contemporaries as ' une actrice sans rivale, qui des moindres roles savait faire line creation charmante . . . au point d 'exciter par ses succes la jalousie de Voltaire, qui reprochait aigrement a ce peuple de se passionner pour une actrice de la Com&lic-italienne.' (Ad. Jullicn.) Two portraits of Mme. Favart by Vanloo represent her in peasant dress (Bastienne and Annette) ; also a little monument which the ' Abbe ' Voisenon and Lourdet de Santerre had sculptured by Coysevox (Louvre), with the inscription ' Graces, tendre Amitte, Talens, Fav a rt n 'est plus.* (3) Ch a r le s N icolas J o s e ph J ustin (b. P a r is c. 1748; d. Belleville, Paris, Feb. 2, 1806), son of the above, was a vaudeville actor. He first appeared at the Comedie-italienne, Sept. 2, 1779, where he remained until 1796. (4) Arm and P aul (b. P a r i s , June 8, 1770; d. in the French provinces, date unknown), was 'sous-inspecteur de la salle' at the Opera (1816), employment which he lost for ' motifs graves,1 FAVORITE, LA 1825. He was still living in 1848. Marandet supposes that he was tho grandfather of the celebrated actress Pierrette Pingaud (called Marie Favart) (b. Beaune, Feb. 16, 1 8 3 3 ; d. Paris, Nov. 11, 1908). She entered tho Theatre Frangais 1848, and retired in 1880. (5) A nto in e P ie r r e Char le s (b. Paris, Oct. 6, 1 7 8 0 ; d. Mar. 28, 1867), son of Justin (3), painter, writer and diplomat, published with Dumolard the Memoirs of his grandfather. He wrote several vaudeville pieces (1808-10) , notably ' La Jeunesse de F a v a r t' with Gentil. He was a pupil of the painter Suvee. J. G. p. B i b l .- Theatre de M. et Mme. Favart ( P a r i s , 1 7 6 3 - 7 2 , 6 v o l s . ) ; TMdtre choisl ( P a r i s , C o l in , 3 v o l s . , 1 8 0 9 a n d D i d o t , 3 v o l s . , 1 8 1 3 ) ; (Euvres de M. et Mme. Favart ( L 6 o n G o z l a n , P a r i s , 1 8 5 3 ) ; MSmoires et correspondance de Ch. S. Favart. p u b l i s h e d b y h i s g r a n d s o n a n d D u m o l a r d ( P a r i s , 1 8 0 8 , 3 v o l s . ) . T h e g r e a t e r n u m b e r o f t h e p a p e r s c o n t a i n e d in t h i s l a s t p u b l i c a t i o n a r e p r e s e r v e d i n t h e A r c h i v e s d e i 'O p e r a (3 p o r t f o l io s ) . O t h e r p a p e r s o n F a v a r t , P a n n a r d a n d F u z e l i e r , f o rm i n g 4 p o r t f o l io s , h a v e b e e n r e c e n t l y a c q u i r e d b y t h e B i b l i o tW q u e H i s t o r i q u e d e l a V i l le d e P a r i s . A d . v a n B e v e r a n d J . G. P r o d 'u om m b , a n e w e d i t i o n o f t h e M t moires de Favart f r o m t h e O p ^ r a m a n u s c r i p t s ( in p r e p a r a t i o n , 1 9 2 6 ) ; G r im m , Correspond, litter. ; B a c h a u m o n t , Correspond, secrete ; Almanach des spectacles pour 1773, Eloge de Mme. Favart, b y h e r h u s b a n d ; id. f o r 1 7 9 3 , Notice histor. sur Favart pere. S a i x t k - B e u v k , Nouveaux Lundis, v o l . i x . , 1 8 6 7 ; D e s n o i r e 3 T K r r e 3 , Gluck et Piccin.A, 1 8 7 2 ; Epicuriens et lettrts, 18 7 9 ; A d o l p i i e J o l l i e s , La Cour et Vopb-a sous Louis X VI ( o n F a v a r t a n d G lu c k ) , 1 8 7 6 ; Airs varies, 1 8 7 7 ( r e p r i n t o f t h e Eloge de Mme. Fa va rt; C a m p a r d o x , Les Comtdiens du roi de la troupe italienne, 1 8 8 0 , v o l . i. ; F o n t , Favart, VOpbra-comique et la Comtdievaudeville aux X V l i e et X V I l i e siecles, 1 8 9 4 (w i t h a f u l l b ib l i o g r a p h y ; M a u r i c e A l b e r t , Les Theatres de la Foire, 1 9 0 0 ; L. B t r i f l i n o , Esquisse d 'une hist, du gout musical en France au X V I I Ie siecle, 1 9 1 3 ; G . C u c u e l , Les Criateurs de I'Opira-comique franQais, 1 9 1 4 ; A m . M a r a n d a t , Manuscrits inedits de la famille Favart, 1 9 2 2 ( f r o m t h e n e w a c q u i s i t i o n s o f t h e B i b l i o t h d q u e H i s t o r i q u e d e l a V i l le d e P a r i s ) .
FERRARESEDELBENE
the sobriquet of Francesca Gabrielli, an Italian singer, native of Ferrara. When Burney was in Venice, in Aug. 1770, he heard a t the Ospedaletto an orphan girl la Ferrarese with an ' extraordinary compass ' and a ' fair natural voice.' She sang in London from 1784-87 in Cherubini's 4 Giulio Sabino ' and other parts, but w ithout much success. In 1789 she was prima donna in Vienna. Mozart wrote for her the Rondo 4 A1 desio,' introduced into the part of the Countess in 4 Figaro ' on its revival Aug. 1789, and she played Fiordiligi in 4 Cosi fan tutte ' at its production, Jan. 26, 1790. Mozart did not think much of her, for in speaking of Allegrandi he says, 4 she is much better than the Ferrarese, though that is not saying a great deal.' She probably owed her good fortune to her pretty eyes and mouth, and to her intrigue with da Ponte, with whom she lived as his mistress for three years. In the end she quarrelled with the other singers, and was sent from Vienna by the Emperor. G.
FIGURANTE
a ballet-dancer who takes an independent part in the piece ; also, in France, a subordinate character in a play, who comes on but has nothing to say.
FIREWORKMUSIC
a series of pieces- Overture, Allegro, Lentement, Bourree, Largo alia siciliana, Allegro, and two Minuets, all in the key of D-written by Handel and performed a t the Fireworks given in the Green Park, Apr. 27, 1749, on the occasion of the Peace of Aix - la - Chapelle. The band - 100 in all - contained 24 oboes, 12 bassoons, 9 trumpets, 9 horns, 3 drums, besides strings. G.
FLORENCE, EVANGELINE
originally E van g e lin e F lor en c e H o u g h t o n 2 (b. Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A., Dec. 12, 1873). Soprano singer, first created a sensation in America and England by reason of her unusually high compass g to c"", then became very popular in London and at the English provincial festivals. She was first taught singing at Boston by the late Mme. Edna Hall (well known at London concerts in the early 'seventies), and made her debut in public at Boston at the age of 18 as the heroine in Flotow's ' Martha.* l See R. Gandolfi, La cappella musicale della corte di Toscana in In London she received further instruction from Henschel, Blume, Randegger, and gratuitously from the late Mrs. Rudolph Lehmann, the well-known amateur. On May 11, 1892, as Miss E. Florence, she made her debut at St. James's Hall at a concert given by herself in conjunction with Miss Marguerite Hall, the daughter of her first teacher. On Dec. 1 she sang ' Elsa's Dream * a t Henschel's Symphony Concerts ; on Jan. 16, 1893, she sang in the first production in London of Parry's ' Job * by the Highbury S o c ie ty ; on Mar. 6 she sang a t the Popular Concerts; the London Ballad Concerts ; Feb. 17, 1894, a t the Crystal Palace -at all which concerts she frequently sang subsequently. In 1894 she sang at the Hereford Festival; in 1897 and 1900 at Birmingham. She sang at the Philharmonic, May 18, 1899, in the Choral Symphony ; on Feb. 25, 1903, in ' The Light of the World,' and on Apr. 1, 1904, in the ' Messiah ' with the Royal Choral Society. She was married to Alexander Crerar, a t Boston, U.S.A., on Oct. 17, 1894. a . c.
FORBES, (1)HENRY
(b. London, 1804; d. there, Nov. 24, 1859), studied music under Sir George Smart, Hummel, Moscheles and Herz. He was an excellent pianist and organist, and conductor of the Societa Armonica. He for some years held the appointment of organist of the parish church of St. Luke, Chelsea. His published compositions comprise several songs and a collection of psalm tunes for four voices called ' National Psalmody ' (1843). He also composed ' The Fairy Oak,' an opera produced at Drury Lane Theatre in 1845, and ' Ruth,' an oratorio, performed at Hanover Square Rooms in 1847. He gave concerts with his brother (2) G eorge (1813-83), organist of St. Mary's, Bayswater Square, and author of many pianoforte pieces. w. H. h .
FOURNEAUXFRANZL
Three books of harpsichord pieces (c. 1750), as well as some single pieces for harpsichord and one for pianoforte, signed Fouquet, are probably by him (Q.-L.).
FREGE, MADAME(NEE LTVIA GERHARD)
(b. Gera, June 13, 1818 ; d. Leipzig, Aug. 22, 1891), soprano singer, educated at Leipzig, and taught to sing by Pohlenz. She made her first appearance in public on July 9, 1832, at a concert given a t the Gewandhaus by the still more juvenile Clara Wieck, then only 13. She had at that time a cultivated voice of lovely quality, especially in the upper register, perfect intonation and good style. She was engaged for the next series of Gewandhaus Concerts, and began with a very large repertory, as is evident from the pieces ascribed to her in the reports of the concerts. She first appeared on the stage at Leipzig, in ' Jessonda,' Mar. 1833. A residence in Dresden enabled her to profit by the example and advice of Schroder Devrient. In 1835 she entered the regular company of the Theatre Royal a t Berlin. After delighting tho public by a large range of characters, in which her acting was equal to her singing, she made her last appearance, June 25, 1836 (as Elvira), and left the boards to be married to Dr. Frege of Leipzig. After that time she sang only at concerts. Her house was always a centre of the best music. She had a singing society there of fifty voices, with a select band, led by David, and conducted by Lange. Mendelssohn was her intimate friend, often consulted her on his music, and took her his songs to try before making them public. ' You don't know my songs,' said he to a friend in London ; ' come to Leipzig and hear Mme. Frege, and you will understand what I intended them to be.' A letter to the ' Frau Doctorin Frege,' dated London, Aug. 31, 1846, and describing the first performance of ' Elijah,' is printed in the second volume of his Letters. It was at her house, on Oct. 9, 1847, in trying over the songs which form op. 71, that he was struck with the first of the attacks which ended in his death on Nov. 4. Mme. Frege's characteristics were delicacy and refinement-not a large voice, but a great power of expression in singing her words, a p e r f e c t s ty l e , a n d t h e h i g h e s t m u s i c a l i n te l l ig e n c e . G.