FZ. The abbreviation of the Italian word forzando, meaning that the note or chord against which it is played should be forced beyond the normal sound of the passage. It is always proportionate; and thus a fz in a piano passage will be far less loud than in a forte passage. sfz or sf (sforzando) is more commonly used than fz.
[ G. ]
FAURE, Jean-Baptiste, son of a singer in the church at Moulins, where he was born Jan. 15, 1830. 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 maîtrise of the Madeleine, where he was under Trevaux, an excellent teacher, to whom he owes 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, and in Nov. 1850 again entered the Conservatoire, and in 52 obtained the first prizes for singing and for opéra comique. He made his début Oct. 20, 52, at the Opera Comique, in Masse's 'Galathée,' after which he advanced steadily through various rôles until his creation of the parts of Crèvecœur in Gevaert's 'Quentin Durward' (March 58) and Hoël in Meyerbeer's 'Pardon de Ploermel' (April 59) placed him in the first rank. In the winter of 1861 he made his first appearance at the Grand Opera, since which time he has been regularly retained there. In London he first appeared at Covent Garden, April 10, 1860, as Hoël in 'Dinorah,' and has since that time been a regular visitor at one or other of the Italian Opera houses. At Brussels also he is often heard, and in 1874, during the war, he undertook the first class of singing in the Brussels Conservatoire. In 1861 he appeared in Berlin at Meyerbeer's request, but the tremolo in his voice did not please the Germans, and he has not revisited that country.
Faure is a good musician and a fine actor. He is also a collector of pictures and a man of great culture. His voice is a baritone of great extent and of very fine quality. His characters comprise Mephistopheles, Hamlet, Nelusco (Africaine), Posa (Don Carlos), Don Giovanni, and many more. In 1857 he was for a short time Professor of Singing at the Paris Conservatoire, and in 1859 he married Mlle. Lefebvre (born Dec. 21, 1828), the chief actress of Dugazon rôles at the Opéra Comique. He has published 2 books of songs (Heugel).
[ G. ]
G.
G. The fifth note of the natural scale—the dominant of C, the relative major of E minor. It is sol in French and in solfaing. It has F♯ for its signature. G minor has B♭ and E♭ for the signature, and is the relative minor of B flat major. G gives its name to the treble clef, the sign for which is nothing but a corruption of the letter. The Greek G gives its name to the gamut or scale.
As to its use in composition—two of Haydn's 12 Grand Symphonies are in G, and there are several others of note in the same key ('Oxford,' 'Letter V,' etc.), but there is no remarkable one by Mozart, and not one by Beethoven, nor by Schubert, Schumann, or Mendelssohn. Of Beethoven's 16 Quartets one (No. 2), and of his 11 Overtures one (Ruins of Athens), the Sonata op. 31, No. 1, two Violin Sonatas, and the P.F. Concerto No. 4, do something to restore the balance, but it is singular how much he avoids the key.
G minor has Mozart's Symphony and Mendelssohn's Concerto to ennoble it.
[ G. ]
GABLER, Johann, of Ulm, built the celebrated organ in the abbey of Weingarten in 1750. It has 4 manuals, and 76 speaking stops, and is credited with 6666 pipes. It is also said that the monks were so pleased with it that they gave Gabler a florin per pipe over and above the contract price. He died about the year 1784.
[ V. de P. ]
GABRIEL, Mary Ann Virginia, of Irish parentage, born at Banstead, Surrey, Feb. 7, 1825, learned the piano from Pixis, Döhler, and Thalberg, and harmony and construction from Molique. Her principal work was a Cantata named 'Evangeline,' founded on Longfellow's poem; she wrote many operettas, one of which, 'Widows bewitched,' was performed by Mr. German Reed's company in 67, and had a long run. Her Cantatas 'Dreamland' and 'Evangeline' were performed at Covent Garden in 1870 and 73. Many of her songs were very popular. Miss Gabriel married Mr. George E. March (author of most of her librettos) in Nov. 1874, and died from the effects of an accident on Aug. 7, 1877.
[ G. ]
GABRIELI, a family of great Italian musicians.
1. Andrea, celebrated contrapuntist, born about 1510, in the quarter of Venice called Canareggio. He was a pupil of Adrian Willaert, maestro di capella of St. Mark's (1527–62). In 1536 he entered the Doge's choir; in 66 succeeded Claudio Merulo as second organist of St. Mark's; and at the time of his death, 1586, was first organist. His fame spread not only throughout Italy, but also to Germany and the Netherlands. His three best-known pupils were his nephew Giovanni, Leo Hassler, and Peter Sweelinck. In 1574 the Republic commissioned
