Faith, Percy
(b Toronto, 7 April 1908; d Los Angeles, 9 Feb 1976). Canadian conductor, arranger and composer, active in the USA. He studied music at the Canadian Academy and the Toronto Conservatory, and made his début as a pianist in Massey Music Hall in 1923. After he badly burnt his hands he began to concentrate on composition and, while continuing to accompany silent films (1920–27), formed his own string ensemble and began writing arrangements for dance bands. He was first engaged as an arranger and conductor of popular music for radio in 1927, and had his own programme, ‘Music by Faith’, from 1938 to 1940. From then on he worked in the USA, and he became an American citizen in 1945. He presented such radio programmes as ‘The Carnation Contented Hour’ (NBC, 1940–47), ‘The Pause that Refreshes’ (CBS, 1946–9), and ‘The Woolworth Hour’ (CBS, 1955–7). He recorded at least 65 albums for Columbia Records (in New York, 1950–59, and Los Angeles, 1960–76), collaborating with notable popular singers including Tony Bennett, Rosemary Clooney, and Johnny Mathis. In the mid-1950s he began to write film scores, while continuing to pursue a commercially successful career as an arranger and conductor.
As a composer Faith first wrote for the art music audience, then after the 1940s concentrated on popular songs and film scores. He was better known as a skilled arranger and orchestrator, adept at applying classical procedures to the popular repertory; he made use of the late 19th-century orchestra, typically with emphasis on strings and with the occasional addition of saxophones or chorus. He won a prize in Chicago for his operetta The Gaudy Dancer (1943) and enjoyed success with several film scores, such as Love me or Leave me (1955), I’d Rather be Rich (1964), The Third Day (1965), and The Oscar (1966). His most popular recordings include Song from Moulin Rouge (1953), Theme from A Summer Place (1960), and the album Themes for Young Lovers (1963).
A large collection of Faith’s original compositions and arrangements is held at Brigham Young University.
EMC2 (M. Miller)
G. Lees: ‘Percy Faith: Master of More than Mood Music’, High Fidelity, xxvi/8 (1976), 18
MICHAEL J. BUDDS
Fakaerti [Fakaerli], George.
See Chambray, louis françois.
Fakhrī, Sabāh [Sabāh Eddine Abū Qoss]
(b Aleppo, 1933). Syrian singer. At a young age he became known for his beautiful and strong voice. He studied music in Aleppo and Damascus. In 1947 he met ‘Umar al-Batsh, who became his teacher of Muwashshah singing, and he began recording old traditional pieces for radio (and later television, from 1960). From the early 1950s he gave concerts in other Arab countries. He was soon invited to Europe, Australia, and North and South America, diffusing the traditional Arab heritage on an international scale.
His concerts brought a fresh approach to classical music. He composed new music for the poems, singing them in semi-free rhythm, and inserted modern sections within traditional songs. His singing influenced most other traditional singers, and he maintained his style undiminished for over 50 years.
In 1968 he appeared in the Guinness Book of Records, for singing continuously for ten hours in Caracas, Venezuela. In 1992 he was awarded a Certificate of Achievement by UCLA. He was chairman of the Order of Syrian Artists for several terms. In 1997 his fan club was established in Egypt. In 1998 he was elected as a member of the Syrian People's Assembly.
SAADALLA AGHA AL-KALAA
Fa-la.
A term probably introduced by Thomas Morley (A Plaine and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musicke, 1597) as a synonym for ‘ballett’. Thereafter it was used colloquially in English to refer to the fairly homophonic, syllabic dance-songs of the late 16th century and early 17th that were characterized by a refrain of nonsense syllables (e.g. Orazio Vecchi’s Cruda mia tiraniella, properly a canzonetta, and Morley’s Now is the month of maying).
See also Balletto, §2; Canzonetta; and Madrigal, §IV.
Falabella (Correa), Roberto
(b Santiago, 13 Feb 1926; d Santiago, 13 Dec 1958). Chilean composer. He studied privately with Letelier for harmony and Becerra for composition. Despite the brevity of his career and a disability that confined him to a wheel-chair, he produced work of marked individuality and great skill, winning first prizes at Chilean music festivals for the Symphony no.1 (1956) and for Adivinanzas (1958).
WORKS
(selective list)
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Ballets: El peine de oro, 1954; Andacollo, 1957
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Micro-op: Del diario morir, 1954
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Orch: 2 divertimenti, str, 1956; Sym. no.1, 1956; Estudios emocionales, 1957
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Choral: Adivinanzas, chorus, 1957; Lámpara en la tierra (cant., P. Neruda), solo vv, chorus, orch, 1958
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Chbr: Str Qt no.1, 1957; Sonata, vn, pf, 1954; Piezas, solo insts
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Pf: Preludios enlazados, c1950; Variations on a Chorale, 1950; Estudios emocionales, 1957
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J.V. Asuar: ‘La Sinfonía de Roberto Falabella’, RMC, no.61 (1958), 15
G. Becerra: ‘Roberto Falabella’, RMC, no.62 (1958), 59
G. Becerra: ‘Roberto Falabella, el hombre y su obra’, RMC, no.91 (1965), 28
L. Merino: ‘Roberto Falabella Correa (1926–1958): el hombre, el artista, y su compromiso’, RMC, no.121–2 (1973), 45
JUAN A. ORREGO-SALAS/LUIS MERINO
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