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Extraordinary Talent
Fanny Mendelssohn showed extraordinary talent and ability as a musician
and composer from an early age, matching the brilliance of her brother, Felix, who rose to widespread acclaim and renown.
Born in Hamburg, Germany on November 14, 1805 to a prominent and wealthy
family, Fanny quickly learned to play the piano under the guidance of her musically-inclined mother, Lea. As soon
as Felix, three years her junior, learned to play, the two became inseparable in their love and devotion to playing,
composing and studying music. Both were recognized as child prodigies, bursting with musical abilities. Every
family event became the occasion to write and perform a new piece of music.
Closed Doors
Fanny's father, Abraham Mendelssohn believed that music was fine in its
place, but that its place should be limited in his children's lives. He opposed the notion of either Fanny or Felix
becoming professional musicians, which he considered an unsuitable for their social standing. He finally agreed
to permit Felix to pursue music, but would never allow Fanny to do so. "Music will perhaps become (Felix's) profession,
whilst for you it can and must only be an ornament," he wrote to his talented dauther.
Constrained by these social mores and the limitations on women, Fanny's
talent found outlets only in private. But even her father conceded that her abilities
were exceptional. At age 13, Fanny performed 24 Bach preludes from memory, and by 19 had composed 32 fugues.
For years after Felix left home in his early teens, Fanny and Felix wrote each other robust
letters, filled with their composition epiphanies. He was her eyes to the wider world, and she was his musical adviser,
reading and critiquing his music drafts. When Felix published 24 of his songs early in his career, six were actually
written by Fanny.
Creativity Explored
Fanny spread her wings at the popular Mendelssohn salons, held
weekly at the family's mansion in Berlin. Luminaries of the day attended and Fanny wrote, played, and, on
occasion, conducted.
In 1829, Fanny married Wilhelm Hensel, an artist, and the couple moved to a garden
house on her family's estate. Hensel was highly supportive of his wife's musicianship, as she was of his painting,
and they worked on their art in adjoining rooms. In 1830, Fanny and Wilhelm bore Sebastian, their only child, named after
Johann Sebastian Bach.
In 1839, the small family traveled to Italy, where Fanny was exposed to a broader public.
She played "with the grace and simplicity of those who make music because they love it," said the French composer Charles
Gounod. Fanny was exhilarated. Upon her return to Germany, she wrote Das Jehr
('The Year'), a set of twelve musical pieces, one for each month, recalling her time in Italy.
On May 14, 1847, while rehearsing for the family's weekly salon, Fanny suffered a sudden stroke,
and died that night. Felix, despite spending less and less time with his sister as the years passed, was devastated
by her death. Within six months, he suffered several small strokes, and died on November 4, 1847. The two
were buried side-by-side.
Astonishing Legacy
By the time of her untimely death, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel had written
over 250 songs, 125 piano works, four cantatas, and much instrumental chamber music, as well as choral works. Only a
handful of her works were published, however, and most disappeared for more than 100 years until rediscovered.
"Even today most of her music has never been published and remains hidden away in libraries or private collections," wrote
Gloria Kamen in a biography for young people, Hidden Music: The Life of Fanny Mendelssohn.
Fanny Mendelssohn's piano works show "inspiration and originality," said R. Larry Todd, a music
professor and biographer, with "songlike qualities" and "striking juxtapositions of unrelated harmonies and chromatically
colored progressions." Many are technically challenging, he notes, a reflection of the "brilliant style of virtuosity
for which Fanny was celebrated."
Melodia Pays Tribute
The two Partsongs by Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel which Melodia Women's Choir of NYC performs
in Twilight in the Garden of Dreams on November 19, 2005 Twilight In Garden of Dreams Fall 2005 as a tribute to the 200th anniversary of her birth, are described by Cynthia Powell, conductor of Melodia, as "spirited,
passionate and full of life." News
Melodia also invited
the women instrumentalists of the Momenta Strong Quartet to perform Fanny Mendelssohn's String Quartet in Eb at their
November 19 concert. "It would be gratifying to see Fanny Mendelssohn's music performed more regularly,"
said Powell.
References:
"Hidden Music: The Life of Fanny
Mendelssohn" by Gloria Kamen
"Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel Piano
Music," Intro by R. Larry Todd
"Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel" wwnorton.com
- classical composers
Translation of text of Partsong by Fanny Mendelssohn,
Performed by Melodia Womens' Choir
in Twilight in the Garden of Dreams,
Abschied (Parting)
It drifts on,
from place to place,
you know not why;
In the wind rings a gentle word,
you look around.
The Love,
she calls you softly back:
O come back, I have loved, O come back, O come,
You are my only, only Luck,
Then further, further fades to rest
You cannot stand silent;
What you have so loved, you shall, you shall,
You shall never see again, not see again
Never see again, never see again.
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