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Scan 335
Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 1927
20 lines. Read by computer on 10 September 2026. Printed page 291. See the scan on archive.org.
119, 1833), was a pupil of his father, and performed, when only 7 years of age, a concerto at a court concert in Mannheim, where he entered the band of the Elector in 1782. From 1785 he began to travel with his father. During a prolonged stay at Strassburg he studied composition under Richter and Pleyel, and later under Mattei at Bologna. He appears to have been less successful at Paris than at Rome, Naples and Palermo. He went with the court of Mannheim to Munich in 1778, was made Konzertmeister in 1789, and was a conductor in the Frankfort theatre in 1792, in which year he returned to Munich; he took C. Cannabich's place as leader of the band, but in 1802 again started for a tour to Russia. At this period Fränzl was generally acknowledged to be one of the best of living violin-players, and his compositions enjoyed great popularity. Spohr heard him in 1802 at St. Petersburg, and gives an interesting account of him:
3'Fränzl was at that time the foremost of violin players in St. Petersburg. He still follows the old method of holding the violin on the right side of the tail-piece, and is therefore obliged to play with his head bent down. (See VIOLIN.) He also lifts the right arm very high, and has a bad habit of raising his eyebrows whenever he plays something expressive. His execution is neat and clear. In the slow movements he performs a great many runs, shakes, and cadenzas, with rare precision and distinctness; but as soon as he plays forte his tone is rough and unpleasant, owing to his drawing the bow too slowly and too close to the bridge, and pressing it too much on the string. Quick passages he executes with good intonation and very clearly, but invariably in the middle of the bow, and consequently without light and shade.'
5On a later occasion Spohr comments less favourably on him, and describes both his style and his compositions as old-fashioned; but this only shows that Fränzl had not kept pace with the progress made in violin-playing towards the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century, and could not stand comparison with the great masters of the Paris school, still less with Spohr himself.
7In 1806 Fränzl returned to Munich, and was appointed conductor of the opera. He did not, however, give up travelling, and played at various times in Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna and Leipzig. In 1823 he made a second journey to Italy. He retired in 1826, and went to live at Geneva, but finally settled at Mannheim. Fränzl was a fertile composer. He published 9 concertos and 4 concertinos for the violin, 1 concertante and 3 duos for 2 violins, 9 quartets for strings, 3 trios for 2 violins and bass, several overtures, a symphony and a number of songs. He also wrote operas, which were performed with much success at Munich and elsewhere. (See list in Q.-L.)
9FRAMERY, NICOLAS ÉTIENNE (b. Rouen, Mar. 25, 1745; d. Paris, Nov. 26, 1810), author and musician. When quite young he was appointed 'Surintendant de la musique' to the Comte d'Artois. He wrote both words and music of 'La Sorcière par hasard' (1783), a comic opera, and of 'Médée,' a prize libretto, which was to have been set by Sacchini, had not his death intervened. It was never performed. Framery was a skilful adapter of French words to Italian music in various 'parodies' of operas by Paisiello and Sacchini. As an author he published—A criticism on Gluck in the Mercure for Sept. 1776; Le Musicien pratique (Paris, 1786), a poor translation of Azopardi's Il musico pratico, rearranged by Choron in 1824; a 'discours' on Les Rapports qui existent entre la musique et la déclamation (1802); articles on Della-Maria (1800) and Haydn (1810). He edited, from 1770-78, the Journal de Musique historique, théorique et pratique sur la musique ancienne et moderne, founded by Mathon-de-la-Cour in 1764; the Calendrier musical, 1788-89, a continuation of Mathon de-la-Cour's Almanach musical (1775); and took part with Ginguené and the Abbé Feytou in the musical dictionary of L'Encyclopédie méthodique (1791), completed in 1811 by de Momigny; and in the Dictionnaire des beaux arts of the Académie. He was a Correspondant of the Institut. After copyrights had been recognised by law, Framery established an agency for enforcing the rights of authors throughout France. He died leaving MS. notices of Gaviniès and various other musicians.
11BIBL.—J. CAPLEZ, Framery, littérateur-musicien (Caen, 1893).
13M. C. C.; rev. M. L. P.
15FRANC (LE FRANC), GUILLAUME (d. Lausanne, June 1570), the son of Pierre Franc of Rouen, was probably one of the French Protestants who fled to Geneva as an asylum from the persecution to which those who embraced the doctrines of the Reformation were then exposed. He settled in that city in 1541, shortly before the return of Calvin from Strassburg, and obtained a licence to establish a school of music. In 1542 he became master of the children and a singer at St. Peter's at a salary of 10 florins. In 1543 the Council of Geneva resolved that 'whereas the Psalms of David are being completed,' and whereas it is very necessary to compose a pleasing melody to them, and Master Guillaume the singer is very fit to teach the children, he shall give them instruction for an hour daily.' His pay was increased from 10 to 50 florins, and afterwards raised to 100, with the use of part of a house, but on the refusal of the Council to grant a further addition to his salary Franc left Geneva in 1545 and joined the choir of the Cathedral of Lausanne, where he remained until his death.
17Franc's name is chiefly known in connexion with the Psalter published at Geneva by Calvin for the use of the reformed churches. The first edition of this celebrated work appeared in 1542, containing 35 psalms, and was enlarged from time to time until its completion in 1562.
191 This refers to the additional versions then being written by Marot.
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