G I Z 



nately called ti;e " Pllbrs of Mi-mphis," ort!K- '• Pillars o? 

 Gi/.c '■ Tlii;! town was taken fr;>r.i the Fivncii by the Bri- 

 tifii i;i June, 1801. Jko.viic's Travels in Africa; Savary'a 

 Letters on Egypt, vol. i. Sonnini's Travels in Upper aiiJ 

 Lower Egypt. 



GIZiaiNSKAIA, a g'.ilf at th.- N. W. extremity of 

 the Poninikoi fca, extending about 50 miles in length, and 16 

 in breadth. N. lat. 67 to 68 '. E. long. i6o' 14'. 

 GIZZARD of BliiDS. See Jiuitamy af Birds. 

 GIZZIELLO, GloAtlllNO, CoNTi, in B:o^raphy, one of 

 the greatell Italian fingers of the lail century, arrived in 

 England in 1736, as Handel's firil linger, at the time that he 

 had quitted tlie Royal Academy ii. the Hay market, upon a 

 quarrel with S.-nefuio, and fet up for himfelf at th(; new thea- 

 tre in Covent Garden. The uobihty and geiitry who feem to 

 liave abetted Senefnio, engaged for the opera in the Hay- 

 iTiarkct Porpora as a compoi'er, and Farinelli, Cuz-zoni, and 

 a complete comj>uny of vocal and inllrumcntal performers to 

 oppofe liim. Handel, May 5th, opened his fumnier cam- 

 paign with the revival of " Ariodante," an opera of the pre- 

 ceding year. < 



The n^xt day the following eulogiuni on his new finger 

 was inferted in tlie Daily Poll ': '■ lall night Signor Gioa- 

 chino Conti Gizziello, who made his firil appearance in tlie 

 opera of " Ariodante,' ' met with an uncommon reception ; and ■ 

 in jnllice both to liis voice and judgment, he may be truly 

 eileenied one of the bell performers ii this kingdom.'' Nei- 

 ther his friends nor the friends of Handel could venture to 

 fav more, while Farinelli was in the kingdom. Conti was 

 at this time a you;ig linger, more of promiling, than mature 

 abilities; and fu modell and diiudent, that when he firil heard 

 Farinelli, at a private rehearfal, he burll into tearSj and 

 fainted away with defpondency. He had his cognomen of 

 Gizsiello from his mailer Gi/.zi, oiice an eminent llage lin- 

 ger, who, in his old age, became an excellent mailer. 



The next opera in which Conti appeared, waa " Ata- 

 lanta," compofed as an epithahmium on the marriage of his 

 loyal highnefs Frederic prince of Wales, with her ferene 

 1 iglinefs the princefs of Saxe-Gotha. 



The longs in " Atalanta,'' which Handel compofed ex- 

 prefsly for his nzw linger, Conti, feem, upon examination, 

 to have been written in his new, graceful, and pathetic ftyle 

 of finging. The bafs and accovnpaniments, too, aa-e of a 

 modern call, and, except the clofes and two or three of the 

 divilions, the whole feems of the prefent age. 



Hmdel, never till now, had a fu-ll man to write for witli 

 fo higii a f iprano voice. Ni.-jlini, Senelino, and Careflini, 

 were all contraltos. There was often dignity and fpirit in 

 tlwir ftyle ; but Conti had delicacy and tendernefs, v> ith the 

 accumulated refinements of near thirty years, from the time 

 of Handel's firil tour to Italy. "We think it is not dillicult to 

 difcover, particularly in the firil adl, that in compofing Con- 

 ti's part in this opera, he modelled his melody to the fchool 

 of his new finger. Indeed, Handel was always remark- 

 ably judicious in writing to the talle and talents of his 

 performers in difplaying excellence, and covering imperfec- 

 tions. 



While Conti was his firil male finger, and the Strada his 

 firll woman, he revived his opera of " Alcina and Faramond," 

 and compofed his part in the opera of " Arminio,'' exprcfsly 

 to difplay his peculiar talents ; in the airs of which it feems 

 .as if Handel had more baffes and accompaniments in iterated 

 notes, than in any preceding work. 



He was advancnig rapidly in the modern ftyle of opera 

 fongs when he quitted the ilage, and retreated back to a 

 more fdemii and loUd ilyle for tiic church. 



during the dreadfu 



earthquake wliich 

 was imprelTL'd with fuch a 



G I. A 



It i< cliieily in writing for Conti and Anibali thai the crin- 

 foi-inity to a different Ilyle from his own appears. 



Do.MK.vicio Anniiiai,!, who fiiould have had an article in 

 the letter A, had he been remembered, fliall be characterized 

 here, in apology for the omilfion. His firll air in the opera 

 of '' Arminio," in which he performed with Conti and tt'.e 

 Strada, difcovers his voice to have been a contralto, which 

 Handel gave him an opportunity to difplay by a fvvell, ad 

 lililum, at the beginning ; but no peculiar t;'.!le, cxpreliion, 

 or powers of execution, appear in his part ; his bravura air 

 in the fecond adl, i'; cailro, contains only co'nmon and cafy 

 palfages. His abilities during his Hay in England feem to have 

 made no deep iinprellion, as we never remember him to have 

 been mentioned by thofe who conllantly attended tlie operas 

 of tliof." times, and were rapturills in fpeaking cf the plea- 

 fure vvhicli tliey had received from fingers of the firll clafs. 

 Buttoretarn to Conti, who, after he quitted England, ilu- 

 dicd with fuch diligence, that being engaged at Madrid to 

 fingin the operas under the direftion of Farinelli, he turned 

 the tables on that wonderful iinger, in whom it has been 

 faid, that he excited envy by his new and refined taile and 

 patlios. 



He was one of the co'nftellation of great fingers which the 

 king of Portugal had aflembled together in 1755. 



There were, according to Paccheirotte's acccymt, Elill, 

 ■ Man/cli, Caffarclli, Gizziello, Veroli, Babbi, Luciani, Raaf, 

 Raina, and Guadagni. No females were then allowed to 

 appear on the opera (lage in Portugal. Gizzie'.lo, narrowly 

 efcaping v.-ith his life 

 happened at Liihon that year, 



religious turn by that tremendous calamity, that he retreated 

 to a monaflery, where he ended his days. It was foon after 

 this event, that Guadagni fiiuj himfelf up in the fame con- 

 vent not fo muc!i for fpiritual confolation as mufical coun- 

 fel ; which he fo .effeclually obtained from the friendfltip of 

 Gizziello, that f^om a young and wild finger of the fecond 

 and third ciafs, he became, in many refpedls, the firll finger 

 of his time. 



GLABALK, in Geography, a town of France, in the 

 department of the Dyle, and chief place of a canton, in the 

 ditlricl of Louvain. The place contains 239, and the can- 

 ton 6771 inhabitants, on a territory of 120 kiliometres, in 

 19 communes. 



GLABELLA, in Anatomy, from glaber, fmooth ; the 

 f])ace between the tvro eye-brows, which is ordinarily not 

 covered v,-ith hairs. 



GLABER, in Hicgrap/jy, a Benediftine monk, who 

 flourifned in the nth century, and who has rendered his 

 name mem.orable by a " Chronicle or Hiilcry of France," 

 written in the Latin language. It confifts of five books, of 

 .Vi'hich the firll relates to the events of the monarchy pre- 

 vioufly to Hugii CapctJ and the four fubfequent ones to 

 thofe fallowing it, as far down as tlie year [046. Tliis 

 work is defective as a compofition, and, at the fame time, 

 full of fabulous ilories, yet it contains much valuable inform- 

 ation relative to thofe remote ages. He was author 

 of a life of William, abbot of St. Benignus at Dijon. 

 Moreri. 



GLABRAIIIA, in Botany, fo denominated by Lin- 

 noEUS, on account of the fmooth, lliining, filky appearance of 

 its wood. Linn. Mant. 156. Schreb. 515. Willd. Sp. 

 PI. V. 3. 1433. Mart. Mill. Dicl. v. 2. Juff. 433. La- 

 mark, Illultr. t. 640. Clafs and order, Monaddpl.na Polytn- 

 ilria. Nat. Ord. " uncertain ; perhaps akin to Styrax." 

 JuiT. Rather Malvactse, near Dur'io. 



Gen. Ch. Cal. Perianth inferior, of one leaf, tubular 

 half as long as the corolla, cut half way down into five equal 



ebtufe 



