Dictionary of Music - Birding America

148 formes fixesthey sound together (harmony), and how much timethey take up in relation to one another (rhythm). Anote or recognizable series of notes (melody) can besounded again and again (repetition), or it may berepeated in slightly different ways (variation), or itcan be followed by a totally different series of notes(contrast). These basic techniques are used to organizethe larger units of a composition. Some of themost important patterns used in Western (Europeanand American) music are: binary (two-part) form,ternary (three-part) form, sonata form, rondo form,variation form, and strophic form. 2 Also, compoundform. The larger structures created by combiningvarious separate forms into compositions consistingof two or more movements or sections. Such formsinclude the sonata, symphony, concerto, string quartet,oratorio, cantata, and suite.formes fixes (fôrm fēks′) French: “fixed forms.”A term used for three important forms of fourteenthcenturyFrench poetry, the BALLADE (def. 1), RON-DEAU, and VIRELAI, that were often set to music.forte (fôr′te) Italian. A direction to performloudly. Often abbreviated f.forte piano (fôr′′te pyä′nô) Italian. 1 Directionto perform first loudly, then softly. Often abbreviatedfp. 2 Also, fortepiano. An early piano withViennese action (enabling a light, shallow touch forrapid passages), leather-covered hammers, and aknee-operated damper mechanism. Its sound ismuch softer than the modern piano’s, both less loudand with a gentler tone color. The hammer ismounted on the key itself, not on the frame, and theescapement is mounted on the frame, not on thekey. As the key is pressed down, the tail of the hammeris arrested by a notch in the escapement, so thatthe hammerhead swings up and strikes the string.Further pressure on the key pushes the escapementaside and allows the hammer to return. (For a comparisonof this action with a modern piano’s, seePIANO, def. 2.) The fortepiano was invented inVienna in the late 1760s or early 1770s by JohannAndreas Stein (Mozart first encountered one in1777), was perfected by 1780, and was very highlyregarded until about 1820, when it was replaced bythe improved double-escapement pianos of Érardand other builders. For the next 150 years thefortepiano was largely considered a primitive formof the modern piano, but in recent years it has beenrecognized as a fine instrument in its own right, andan increasing number of builders are reproducing it(few original instruments survive) for the growingnumber of performers who use it to play the keyboardmusic of Haydn and Mozart and the earlyworks of Beethoven.fortissimo (fôr tēs′sē mô) Italian. A direction toperform very loudly. Often abbreviated ff, occasionallyfff.forza, con (kôn fôr′tsä) Italian.perform vigorously, with emphasis.A direction toforzando (fôr tsän′dô) Italian. Also, forzato (fôrtsä′tô). A direction to perform with a strong accent,often abbreviated fz. Same as SFORZANDO.forzatoSee FORZANDO.Foss (fos), Lukas, 1922– . A German-bornAmerican composer, pianist, and conductor, whosemusic combines a variety of styles, among them neoclassicism,romantic lyricism, and American folk elements.Foss’s works include two operas, Griffelkinand The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County (a oneactopera based on a short story by Mark Twain); twopiano concertos; several cantatas (most notable, AParable of Death); and Symphony of Chorales, basedon some of Bach’s chorales. In the late 1950s, Fossbegan to use various new styles, experimenting withimprovisation (in his suite, Time Cycle, 1960),aleatory music, serial techniques, and quotation andcollage (Baroque Variations, 1967, borrows fromHandel, Scarlatti, and Bach). More recent worksinclude Brass Quintet (1978), Flute Concerto (1986),and Symphony no. 4 (1995). After 1970 Fossdevoted himself increasingly to conducting.Foster (fô′stər), Stephen Collins, 1826–1864.An American composer, who wrote both words andmusic for nearly two hundred songs. About a dozen ofthem are still well known today, and some are even