Page:A Dictionary of Music and Musicians vol 1.djvu/536

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524 FINGER.

FINALE.

defences, protests, recriminations, and alternations of success and failure are wrought into a work of musical art which, as has been well said, 'begins on an eminence and rises to the last note.'

The great concerted piece, whether introduced at the end of an act or elsewhere, has not been made an essential feature of modern opera without strong protest; and this by the same writer whose amusing designation of barytones and basses has already been quoted. [Bass.] Lord Mount-Edgecumbe (Musical Reminiscences, Sect, vii.) attributes its introduction to no other cause than the decline of the art of singing, and the consequent necessity for making compensation to the musical hearer for a deficiency of individual excellence by a superfluity of aggregate mediocrity. 'Composers,' he says, 'having (now) few good voices, and few good singers to write for, have been obliged to adapt their compositions to the abilities of those who were to perform in them; and as four, five, or six moderate performers produce a better effect jointly than they could by their single efforts, songs have disappeared, and interminable quartettes, quintettes, sestettos etc. usurp their place.' And again, 'It is evident that in such compositions each individual singer has little room for displaying either a fine voice or good singing, and that power of lungs is more essential than either; very good singers therefore are scarcely necessary, and it must be confessed that though there are now none so good, neither are there many so bad as I remember in the inferior characters. In these levelling days, equalisation has extended itself to the stage and musical profession; and a kind of mediocrity of talent prevails, which, if it did not occasion the invention of these melodramatic pieces is at least very favourable to their execution.' The most extraordinary thing connected with this passage is that it was written half a century after the production of Mozart's 'Nozze di Figaro,' with which the venerable critic was certainly well acquainted. From the most recent form of opera, that of Wagner, the finale, like the air, the duet, the trio or other self-contained movement, has entirely disappeared. Each act may be described as one movement, from the beginning to the end of which no natural pause is to be found, and from which it would be impossible to make a connected, or in itself complete extract. It is difficult to conceive that this 'system' should in its integrity maintain, or attain, extensive popularity; but it will no doubt more or less affect all future musical dramas.

[ J. H. ]

FINCH, Hon. and Rev. Edward, a prebendary of York in 1704, composed several pieces of church music. Of these a 'Te Deum' and an anthem 'Grant, we beseech Thee,' are included in Tudway's collection of church music in the British Museum (Harl. MSS. 1337-42). He died Feb. 14, 1738, aged 74.

[ W. H. H. ]

FINGERBOARD. The Fingerboard is that part of the violin and other stringed instruments played with a bow, over which the strings are stretched, and against which the fingers of the left hand of the player press the strings in order to produce sounds not given by the open string.

The fingerboard of the violin is best made of ebony, as harder and less easily worn out than any other wood. Its surface is somewhat curved—corresponding to the top line of the bridge, but not quite so much—in order to allow the bow to touch each string separately, which would be impossible, if bridge and fingerboard were flat. On an average-sized violin it measures 10½ inches in length, while its width is about 1 inch nearest to the head of the violin and 1¾ inch at the bridge-end. It is glued on to the neck, and extends from the head to about three-fourths of the distance between the neck and the bridge. At the head-end it has a slight rim, called the 'nut,' which supports the strings and keeps them at a distance sufficient to allow them to vibrate without touching the fingerboard. This distance varies considerably according to the style of the player. A broad tone and an energetic treatment of the instrument require much room for the greater vibration of the strings, and consequently a high nut. Amateur-players, as a rule, prefer a low nut, which makes it easier to press the strings down, but does not allow of the production of a powerful tone.

The fingerboard, getting worn by the constant action of the fingers, must be renewed from time to time. The modern technique of violin-playing requires the neck, and in consequence the fingerboard, to be considerably longer than they were at the time of the great Cremona makers. For these reasons we hardly ever find an old instrument with either the original fingerboard, bridge, sound-post, or bass-bar, all of which however can be made just as well by any good violin-maker now living as by the ancient masters.

The fingerboards of the Violoncello and Double-bass are made on the same principle as that of the violin, except that the side of the fingerboard over which the lowest string is stretched is flattened in order to give sufficient room for its vibration. Spohr adopted a somewhat similar plan on his violin by having a little scooping-out underneath the fourth string, which grew flatter and narrower towards the nut.

In the instruments of the older viola-, gamba-, and lyra-tribe, the fingerboard was provided with frets.

[ P. D. ]

FINGER, Gottfried or Godfrey, a native of Olmütz in Moravia, came to England about 1685, and was appointed chapel-master to James II. In 1688 he published 'Sonatæ XII. pro Diversis Instrumentis. Opus Primum,' and in 1690 'Six Sonatas or Solos, three for a violin and three for a flute.' In 1691, in conjunction with John Banister, he published 'Ayres, Chacones, Divisions and Sonatas for Violins and Flutes,' and shortly after joined Godfrey Keller in producing 'A Set of Sonatas in five parts for flutes and hautboys.' He subsequently published other sonatas for violins and flutes. In 1693 Finger composed the music for Theophilus Parsons' Ode for the annual celebration of St.