Fanny Zippora Cäcilie (Mendelssohn) Hensel (1805 - 1847)

Born 14 Nov 1805 in Hamburg, Heiliges Römisches Reich

Ancestors

Wife of Wilhelm Hensel — married 3 Oct 1829 in Berlin, Brandenburg, Preußen

Descendants

Died 14 May 1847 at age 41 in Berlin, Brandenburg, Prussia

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Biography

Fanny (Mendelssohn) Hensel is Notable.

"Fanny Mendelssohn (14 November 1805 – 14 May 1847), later Fanny (Cäcilie) Mendelssohn Bartholdy and, after her marriage, Fanny Hensel, was a German pianist and composer. She composed over 460 pieces of music, including a piano trio and several books of solo piano pieces. A number of her songs were originally published under her brother, Felix Mendelssohn's, name." ^[1]

Fanny was born in Hamburg on November 14, 1805 ^[2], the oldest of four children; she was descended on both sides from distinguished Jewish families; her parents were Abraham Mendelssohn (son of philosopher Moses Mendelssohn), and Lea Salomon, granddaughter of the entrepreneur Daniel Itzig.^[3]

She received her first piano instruction from her mother, who had been trained by Johann Kirnberger, who was a student of Johann Sebastian Bach.^[3]

In 1820 Fanny, along with her brother Felix, joined the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin which was led by Carl Friedrich Zelter.

In 1829 Fanny married the painter Wilhelm Hensel; they had one child, Sebastian Ludwig Felix Hensel. ^{[4] [3]}

Her only known public performance was in 1838, when she played her brother's Piano Concerto No. 1.^[3]

She died in Berlin on May 14, 1847^[5] from complications from a stroke.^[6]

In recent years, her music has become better known thanks to concert performances and a number of CDs being released on labels such as Hyperion and CPO.^[3]

Works

• Das Jahr ("The Year"). ( a cycle of pieces depicting the months of the year)The music was written on colored sheets of paper, and illustrated by her husband Wilhelm Hensel. Each piece was also accompanied by a short poem.
• One of her major works is the Easter sonata. It was unpublished in her lifetime, then discovered and attributed to her brother in 1970. Examination of the manuscript and a mention of the work in her diary established that the work was hers in 2010.^[7]

Research Notes

Name appears as:

• Caecilia Mendelssohn on a transcription of her 1816 baptism. ^[2] (is there an 1814 birth record?)
• Fannÿ Cäcilie Hensel on a transcription, of son’s baptism ^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ English Wikipedia article on Fanny Mendelssohn
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Baptism: "Germany Births and Baptisms, 1558-1898"
   citing Digital film/folder number: 102390956; FHL microfilm: 70269
   FamilySearch Record: NTW1-9VX (accessed 16 May 2024)
   Caecilia Mendelssohn baptism on 21 Mar 1816, daughter of Abraham Mendelssohn & Lea Salomon, in Berlin, Brandenburg, Preußen.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4} Wikipedia contributors, 'Fanny Mendelssohn', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 2 May 2024, 22:02 UTC, <https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fanny_Mendelssohn&oldid=1221937777> [accessed 16 May 2024]
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Baptism of son Felix Ludwig Sebastian Hensel: "Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1500-1971"
   citing Baptism, Berlin, Brandenburg, Preußen, , German Lutheran Collection, various parishes, Germany
   FamilySearch Record: QPKB-YBHV (accessed 16 May 2024)
   FamilySearch Image: 3Q9M-CSCF-59FZ-H Image number 00257
   Fannÿ Cäcilie Hensel's son Felix Ludwig Sebastian Hensel baptism on 22 Aug 1830 in Berlin, Brandenburg, Preußen.
5. ↑ Burial: "Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1500-1971"
   citing Burial, Berlin, Brandenburg, Preußen, , German Lutheran Collection, various parishes, Germany
   FamilySearch Record: QPK1-VSYC (accessed 16 May 2024)
   FamilySearch Image: 3Q9M-CSCD-192K-L Image number 00121
   Fannÿ Hensel burial (died on 14 May 1847 at age 40) on 17 May 1847 in Berlin, Brandenburg, Preußen.
6. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #233039399
7. ↑ Mace Christian, Angela (2018). "Hensel [née Mendelssohn (-Bartholdy)], Fanny Cäcilie". Grove Music Online. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/omo/9781561592630.013.3000000159. ISBN 9781561592630. (subscription or UK public library membership required) Cited on Wikipedia, accessed 15 May 2024

• Wikidata: Item Q57286
• German Wikipedia article on Fanny Hensel
• English Wikipedia article on Mendelssohn family
• German Wikipedia article on Mendelssohn (Berliner Familie)

See also:

• Citron, Marcia J. Mendelssohn, Fanny In Grove Music Online (subscriber access). Oxford Music Online, (accessed 13 February 2010).
• Citron, Marcia J. "Mendelssohn(-Bartholdy), Fanny (Cäcilie)" in The New Grove Dictionary of Women Composers. Macmillan, 1994. ISBN 0-333-51598-6
• Conway, David. Jewry in Music: Entry to the Profession from the Enlightenment to Richard Wagner. Cambridge University Press, 2011. ISBN 978-1-107-01538-8
• Hensel, Sebastian. The Mendelssohn Family 1729–1847 4th revised edition, 2 vols., Sampson Low, London, 1884. This compilation from family correspondence still remains an important source of information about Fanny, Felix and their relatives.
• Kimber, Marian Wilson, "The 'Suppression' of Fanny Mendelssohn: Rethinking Feminist Biography," 19th-Century Music, Vol. 26, No. 2 (Autumn, 2002), pp. 113–129
• Mendelssohn (Hensel), Fanny, tr. and ed. Marica Citron. The Letters of Fanny Hensel to Felix Mendelssohn (New York, 1987).
• Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Felix, ed. Paul Mendelssohn Bartholdy, tr. Lady Wallace. Letters of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy from 1833 to 1847, Longman Green, London 1864.
• Sterndale Bennett, R., "The Death of Mendelssohn", in Music and Letters vol. 36 no. 4, Oxford, 1955
• Tillard, Françoise, translated by Camille Naish, Fanny Mendelssohn , Amdeus Press, Portland, Oregon, c1996, ISBN 0-931340-96-9
• Todd, R. Larry, Mendelssohn: A Life in Music (Oxford University Press, 2003) ISBN 0-19-511043-9
• Todd, R. Larry, Fanny Hensel: The Other Mendelssohn (Oxford University Press, 2010) ISBN 978-0-19-518080-0
• Portrait by Daniel Moritz Oppenheim https://thejewishmuseum.org/collection/31380-portrait-of-fanny-mendelssohn-hensel
• Google Doodle page
• Wikipedia: List of compositions by Fanny Mendelssohn