DICTIONARY OF MUSIC - El Atril

72 FORD FOELANA
of the operatic class at the Guildhall School of
Music. Ford's compositions are in nearly all
styles. His church services are in constant use
at St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey,
for the Empire he
and other principal churches ;
composed the ballets 'La Froliijue,' 'Brighton
Pier,' ' Faust,' and ' La Danse ' ; there exists a
volume of beautiful settings of poems by Shelley
while liis operas and operettas include
elected a Fellow of the R.A.M. R. H. L.
FORD, Thomas, born about 1580, was one
of the musicians of Prince Henry, son of James I.
In 1607 he published a work entitled 'Musickeof
Sundrie Kindes. Set forth in two Bookes. The
first whereof are Aries [sic] for four Voices to the
Lute, Orpharion, or Basse- Viol, with a Dialogue
for two Voyces and two Basse-Viols in parts
tunde the Lute way. The Second are Pavens,
Galiards, Almaines, Toies, ligges, Thumpes and
such like, for two Basse- Viols, the Liera way,
so made as the greatest number may serve to
play alone, very easie to be performde. ' This
work contains the beautiful four- part songs
' Since first I saw your face,' and 'There is a
ladie sweet and kind.' [In 1611 he was one of
the musicians of Henry, Prince of Wales, at a
salary of £30 a year, soon afterwards increased
to £40. In 1626 it was doubled, on his becoming
a member of the King's band.] Ford contributed
two anthems to Leighton's ' Teares or
Lamentacions of a SorrowfuU Soule,' 1614. He
composed some canons and rounds printed in
Hilton's 'Catch that Catch can,' and an anthem
'Let God arise,' printed in the Anthems by
Madrigal Composers of the Mus. Antiq. Society.
He was buried at S. Margaret's, Nov. 17,
1648. w. H. H. : corrections and additions
from Vict, of Nat. Biog.
FORKED, JoHANN NiooLAUs, a meritorious
though overrated writer on the history and
theory of music, son of a shoemaker, born Feb.
22, 1749, at Meeder near Coburg ; educated
himself by the study of Mattheson's Vollkominener
Gapellmeisler. Having a fine voice he
was appointed chorister at Liineburg in 1762,
and four years later ' Chorpriifect ' at Schwerin.
In 1769 he entered the university of Giittingen
to study law, but soon occupied himself exclu-
sively with music, and became organist of the
university church. In 1778 he was appointed
director of music to the University and graduated
as doctor of pjhilosophy in 1780. [He
conducted the weekly concerts of the Akademie
from 1779 to 181.5.] On the death of Emanuel
Bach he hoped to have been appointed his
successor at Hamburg, but Schwenke obtained
the post, and Forkel remained at Gtittingen till
his death, March 17, 1818. Heis best known as a
musical critic and historian. Hisfirstwork, Veher
die Theorie der Musik, etc. (Cramer, Gcittingen,
1774, republished in 1777), a p>amphlet urging
the foundation of lectures on music at Gottingen,
was followed by many others, especially Masik-
alisch kritische Bibliolhek, 3 vols. (Gotha, 1778),
' containing violent attacks on Gluck's Iphigenie
' Daniel
O'Rourke' (1884); ' Nydia ' (a duologue by
Justin H. McCarthy, 1889); 'Joan' (Robert Konzcrtc, 1779; Gcnuuere Bestiramung, etc.,
Martin, 1890) ; 'Mr. Jericho' (operetta by H. 1780 ; the Mas. AVmanach fiir Deiitschlaml i'or
Greenbanlv, 1893); '.Jane Annie' (libretto by 1782, 1783, 1784, and 1789,- containing parti-
J. JI. Barrie and Sir A. Conan Doyle), produced culars (not always trustworthy) as to novelties
at the Savoy, May 13, 1893) ; a cantata, 'The
Eve of the Fcsta.' On March 29, 1899, he was
in music ; his AUgmneine Ocschichle der Musik,
in Aulide ; Uber die besie Einriehtmuj bffentlicher
'
2 vols. (Leipzig, 1788 and 1801), founded on
Hawkins, Burney, and Marpurg, now super-
seded, but interesting as a literary ' curiosity ;
Oeschichte der ItalieniscJien Oper, 2 vols. (Leipizig,
1789), a translation of Arteaga's book ; and
Allgemeine Literatnr der Musik (Leipzig, 1792),
his most important work. This book, which
shows the amount of his knowledge and reading,
is the foundation of Becker's S'ystematischchrmwlogische
Darstellung der musikalischen
LUeratur. Forkel was the first to attempt a
biography of Bach (Ueber J. S. B.'s Leben,
Ku'tist, und Ku'iutwerke. Leipzig, 1802), trans-
lated into English under the title Life of J. S.
Bach, with a critical review of his compositions
(Lonrlon, 1820). As he knew little of Bach's
great sacred vocal works, he treats him mainly
from the p»oint of view of the organ and clavier,
but the book will always remain as the foundation
of all subsequent Lives of the great musician.
[Among his musical compositions may be mentioned
the oratorios 'Hiskias,' 1789, and 'Die
Hirten bey der Krippe, ' four cantatas for chorus
and orchestra, clavier concertos, and many sonatas
and variations for harpsichord. Quellen- Lexikan.]
The royal library at Berlin contains an interesting
spiecimen of Forkel's labours. This is a large
volume of church musie of the 16th century,
scored by himself, and, though printed, unique.
It was intended to form the first volume of a
series of examples illustrating the history of
music, and was undertaken at the instance of
Sonnleithner of Vienna. The p)lates were engraved
in Leipzig, and the j)roofs were already
in Forkel's hands, when the French took the
city in 1806, and seized everything in tlie shape
ot metal to be converted into bullets. His plates
having been thus destroyed Forkel had the proof-
sheets bound, and this is the copy now at Berlin.
The masses it contains are taken from ' Missae
tredecim . . . Norinbergae . . . arte Hieronymi
Graphei, 1539,' and ' Liljer quindecim Missarum
. . . Norimbergae apud Joh. Petreium,
1539.' F. G.
FORLANA. An Italian dance, a favourite
with the Venetian gondoliers. It is in 6-8 or
' After ForkeVa death, Schwickert, the publuher, f^fferefi the
materials for completing the third volume to Fetia and Choroii, but
they declined the taek.