Fanny Hensel, born Mendelssohn, and her brother Felix Mendelssohn, received their early musical education side by side and lived out their musical and compositional activities in close dialogue.
Historical Context
Fanny Hensel's father, Abraham Mendelssohn, decreed in 1820 that music could be Felix's profession, but for Fanny, it could only be an ornament, never the root of her being.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Felix Mendelssohn's cantata Vom Himmel hoch uses a Lutheran chorale melody, reflecting his Protestant upbringing despite his family's Jewish heritage.
Composition History
Fanny Hensel's cantata Hiob, composed for her second wedding anniversary, remained unpublished until 1992.
Composition History
Felix Mendelssohn began setting Goethe's ballad Die erste Walpurgisnacht in Vienna, intending to compose it as a "new kind of cantata" for choruses and large orchestra.
Critical Reception
Hector Berlioz described Felix Mendelssohn's revised Die erste Walpurgisnacht, premiered in 1843, as "apparent confusion that is art perfected."
Compositional Technique
In Hiob, Fanny Hensel reordered biblical texts to create a movement from negativity to positivity, using G minor for the opening and G major for the third movement.
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