Fanny Mendelssohn - Lied for Piano, Op. 6, No. 3 (score-video)

~~~~~ Note ~~~~~
While the score displayed here is in F-sharp major, the recording is in F major.

(The F major version of this Lied was published by G. Henle Verlag in their edition of Fanny Mendelssohn’s complete works, edited by Fanny Kistner-Hensel.)

~~~~~Details/Timestamps~~~~~
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel - Lied ("O Traum der Jugend, o goldner Stern" / "O Dream of Youth, O Golden Star"), Op. 6 no. 3
for piano solo

Penelope Crawford, fortepiano (Graf piano from 1835)

~~~~~ Artist information ~~~~~

~~~~~Buy the recording~~~~~

~~~~~ Sources ~~~~~

Score:

Links to program note sources:
1. Hensel, Fanny Mendelssohn. Ausgewählte Klavierwerk. Edited by Fanny Kistner-Hensel. Munich, Germany: G. Henle Verlag, 1986. [no d

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[opus-]

(please click "read more" for program notes!)


Fanny Mendelssohn’s Lied (Song) for Piano, op. 6 no. 3, is in F-sharp major and marked Andante cantabile. The Lied follows an A-B-A structure. It begins with a tender melody supported by calm accompaniment. The melody often builds up tension by venturing into minor keys – for instance, G-sharp minor and D-sharp minor (the relative minor of F-sharp major). Mendelssohn always resolves the tension, however, returning to F-sharp major after every cadence in a minor key.

After one last statement of the opening theme, Mendelssohn introduces the B section. In 9/8 time, the B-section is in F-sharp minor, with a foreboding accompaniment. Its melody seems more fragmented than the A section’s melody does. The melody stops and starts, and it often lingers on dominant chords, creating a greater sense of tension.

With an unaccompanied line of eighth notes, Mendelssohn transitions into the A section’s reprise. Later in the reprise, Mendelssohn introduces new musical material, which leads to an affirming cadence in F-sharp major. Mendelssohn ends the Lied softly after this cadence, with a fragment of the opening theme and three F-sharp major chords.

Additional notes:
A version of this Lied in F major also exists, as published by G. Henle Verlag in their edition of Fanny Mendelssohn’s complete works, edited by Fanny Kistner-Hensel (her great granddaughter). This is the version that you hear in this score video, although the score we used is in F-sharp major.

The subtitle of the Lied, “O Traum der Jugend, O goldner Stern” (Oh Dream of Youth, Oh Golden Star), appears in Fanny Mendelssohn’s manuscript, but not in the first edition – i.e. the earliest published edition. According to the Duke University musicologist R. Larry Todd, Mendelssohn’s title refers to her son Sebastian, who had just been confirmed at the age of 16. (Confirmation is a rite in many Christian denominations, often given when a youth comes of age.)

Sources:
1. Hensel, Fanny Mendelssohn. Ausgewählte Klavierwerk. Edited by Fanny Kistner-Hensel. Munich, Germany: G. Henle Verlag, 1986.
2. Todd, R. Larry. Foreword to Fanny Mendelssohn: Piano Music. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2004.

[alrosen]

Fanny M. is to my untrained and frankly not very keen ear, an astonishingly powerful composer. I love her music, and think she deserves a wider fame. I thank you opus43, for providing the music along with the helpful information. I very much appreciate it all.