ABSTRACT
The following collections assemble scholarship on the topic of Hensel and her oeuvre. Individual contributions to these volumes are cited separately throughout this guide.
154. Borchard, Beatrix, and Monika Schwarz-Danuser, eds. Fanny Hensel geb. Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Komponieren zwischen Geselligkeitsideal und romantischer Musikästhetik. Stuttgart: J. B. Metzler Verlag, 1999. Reprint ed., Kassel: Furore, 2002. 341 pp. ISBN: 978-3-476-45204-7
Borchard and Schwarz-Danuser’s collection stems from a 1997 symposium on Fanny Hensel held at the Hochschüle der Künste in Berlin; it includes twenty-three essays devoted to Fanny Hensel, plus two introductory essays that convey the state of Hensel research as of the late 1990s. The topics range widely, from the nature of the salon, biography, Hensel’s relationship with Judaism and various branches of Christianity, her relationship with Bach’s works, problems in editing Hensel’s works, and a significant number of contributions addressing analysis and experimental aspects of Hensel’s oeuvre. See nos. 69, 96, 172, 177, 181, 290, 297, 350, 370, 372, 386, 393, 397, 408, 422, 424, 427, 446, 484, 520, 522, 523, 524, 525, and 529. Reviewed by Rebecca Grotjahn, Frankfurter Zeitschrift für Musikwissenschaft 7 (2004): 35–38; Thomas Schmidt-Beste, Die Musikforschung 54, no. 1 (Januar–März 2001): 85–87; and others.
155. Brand, Bettina, Martina Helmig, Barbara Kaiser, Birgit Salomon, and Adje Westerkamp, eds. Komponistinnen in Berlin. Berlin: Musikfrauen e.V., 1987. 448 pp. ISBN: 3927327239
This book includes documents and short essays about a range of historical and contemporary female composers who spent some or all of their lives in Berlin. The section on Hensel includes reminiscences of the Sonntagsmusiken from Ludwig Rellstab, Sebastian Hensel, Fanny Lewald, and Johanna Kinkel, Hensel’s own “Vorschlag zur Errichtung eines Dilettantenvereins” (March 17, 1825) (no. 255), articles by Gesine Schröder (no. 407) and Gottfried Eberle (no. 380), and a works list. There are also two silhouettes attributed here to Hensel, although further investigation indicates that they are likely by Hensel’s granddaughters, Marie Cécile and Juliette Fanny Hensel. Reviewed by Judy Tsou, Notes: Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association 47, no. 2 (December 1990): 380–381.
156. Cooper, John Michael, and Julie D. Prandi, eds. The Mendelssohns: Their Music in History. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. 382 pp. ISBN: 978-0-19-816723-5
As indicated by the plural in the title, this collection includes scholarship on both Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and Fanny Hensel. Part 4, “Felix and Fanny,” includes four essays, three of which deal with the relationship between the siblings and the fourth with Hensel’s piano music. See nos. 78, 95, 355, and 437. Reviewed by Marian Wilson Kimber, Notes: Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association 60, no. 3 (March 2004): 678–680; and Peter F. Williams, The Musical Times 144, no. 1884 (Autumn 2003): 71–72.
157. Elvers, Rudolf, and Hans-Günter Klein, eds. Die Mendelssohns in Berlin: Eine Familie und Ihre Stadt. Ausstellungskataloge (Staatsbibliothek Preußischer Kulturbesitz) 20. Berlin: Staatsbibliothek Preußischer Kulturbesitz, 1983. 266 pp. ISBN: 3882261854
See no. 206.
158. Hartinger, Anselm, Christoph Wolff, and Peter Wollny, eds. “Zu gross, zu unerreichbar”: Bach-Rezeption im Zeitalter Mendelssohns und Schumanns. Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Härtel, 2007. 487 pp. ISBN: 978-3-7651-0386-5
The early-to-mid-nineteenth century—i.e., the time of Schumann and Mendelssohn—was a period of significant activity in the development of the reception of J. S. Bach’s music. This collection stems from a 2005 symposium on this topic, “Bach—Mendelssohn—Schumann.” See nos. 414, 420, 423, and 434.
159. Helmig, Martina, ed. Fanny Hensel, geb. Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Das Werk. München: edition text+kritik, 1997. 189 pp. ISBN: 3-88377-574-6
This collection of thirteen essays focuses on Hensel’s compositional process and musical works. The final entry examines little-known letters between Fanny and Wilhelm that were written during their engagement. Many of the essays place Hensel’s works in their biographical and cultural context. This collection stems from a series of five concerts and an international symposium that took place in 1997 under the auspices of Musikfrauen e. V. Berlin. See nos. 70, 246, 271, 279, 289, 303, 336, 337, 341, 342, 384, and 404. Reviewed by Ulrich Wüster, Österreichische Musikzeitschrift 53, no. 12 (December 1998): 77–78.
160. Kenny, Aisling, and Susan Wollenberg, eds. Women and the Nineteenth-Century Lied. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, 2015. 275 pp. ISBN: 978-1-4724-3025-0
This collection includes two essays devoted specifically to Hensel—see nos. 334 and 443—although Hensel or people with whom she had professional or personal relationships come up in various contexts throughout the volume. See also no. 508. Reviewed by Susan Borwick, Journal of the International Alliance of Women in Music 23, no. 1 (Spring 2017): 28–29; Marcia Citron, Music & Letters 97, no. 2 (May 2016): 344–347; and Laura K. T. Stokes, Nineteenth-Century Music Review 14, no. 2 (August 2017): 253–258.
161. Klein, Hans-Günter, ed. Die Musikveranstaltungen bei den Mendelssohns—Ein “musikalischer Salon”?: die Referate des Symposions am 2. September 2006 in Leipzig. Leipzig: Mendelssohn-Haus, 2006. 101 pp. ISBN: 9783000205149
A collection of essays stemming from a symposium that took place on September 2, 2006 on the subject of the Mendelssohns’ musical salons (both Lea’s salon and Fanny’s Sonntagsmusiken). See nos. 444 and 451. Reviewed by Claudio Bolzan, Nuova rivista musicale italiana 41, no. 1 (January–March 2007): 118–122; and Inga Mai Groote, Forum Musikbibliothek 28, no. 2 (2007): 184–185.
162. Lambour, Christian. “Fanny Hensel—Die Pianistin.” Mendelssohn Studien 12, 14, 15 (2001–2007). ISSN: 0340-8140
Lambour’s five-part portrait of Hensel as a pianist was published over the course of three volumes of Mendelssohn Studien. Topics include Hensel’s piano teachers, her instruments, contemporary reports on her playing, her views of her own playing, and how she understood the performance practices of other contemporary pianists. See entries no. 141, 142, 143, 144, and 145.
163. Lambour, Christian, ed. “Quellen zur Biographie von Fanny Hensel, geb. Mendelssohn Bartholdy.” Mendelssohn Studien 6, 7 (1986, 1990). ISSN: 0340-8140
This four-part series published in two volumes of Mendelssohn Studien was edited by Christian Lambour. It includes the following articles by Christian Lambour: “Briefe an die Nichte—Henriette Mendelssohn und Jacob Salomon Bartholdy” (no. 58), “Brief zur Hochzeit der Schwester—Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy an seine Familie, Oktober 1829” (no. 59), and “Ein Schweizer Reisebrief aus dem Jahr 1822 von Lea und Fanny Mendelssohn Bartholdy an Henriette (Hinni) Mendelssohn, geb. Meyer” (no. 245). The final entry in the series is “A Diary-Album for Fanny Mendelssohn Bartholdy,” by Phyllis Benjamin (no. 102).
164. Leggewie, Veronika, ed. Fanny Hensel, geb. Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Ein Frauenschicksal im 19. Jahrhundert. Koblenzer Mendelssohn-Tage: Vortragsreihe 4. Bell, Germany: Edition linea classica, 2005. 140 pp. ISBN: 3-9807515-5-4
This publication assembles lectures given at the Koblenzer Mendelssohn-Tage 2005 (various dates in February and March 2005). See entries 64, 103, 471, and 481. The book is, unfortunately, marred by poor copyediting (for example, giving Felix the unlikely birth year of 1909, p. 7) and some unevenness in the contributions. Reviewed by Inga Mai Groote, Forum Musikbibliothek 27, no. 2 (2006): 186–187.
165. Leggewie, Veronika, ed. Frauen um Felix. Koblenzer Mendelssohn-Tage, Vortragsreihe Frühjahr 2002. Bell, Germany: Top Music, 2002. 176 pp. ISBN: 3-9807515-1-1
This publication assembles lectures given at the Koblenzer Mendelssohn-Tage in the spring of 2002 (various dates from February through April). See nos. 8 and 123.
166. Mendelssohn-Studien: Beiträge zur neueren deutschen Kulturgeschichte. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 1972–2005; Hannover: Wehrhahn Verlag, 2007– . ISSN: 0340-8140
The official publication of the Mendelssohn-Gesellschaft, currently published by Wehrhahn Verlag. It includes scholarly work in numerous disciplines (musicology, history, philosophy, religious studies, and others) covering all members of the Mendelssohn family. Articles that either focus on or touch on Fanny Hensel, and letters not included in other publications, can be found in contributions across the journal’s run.
167. Nineteenth-Century Music Review 4, no. 2 (2007). ISSN: 1479-4098
This issue of Nineteenth-Century Music Review serves as the proceedings of the 2005 bicentenary conference at the University of Oxford, ‘Fanny Hensel (née Mendelssohn Bartholdy) and her Circle.’ See nos. 129, 134, 173, 189, 348, 374, 376, and 485.
168. Rodgers, Stephen, ed. The Songs of Fanny Hensel. Oxford: Oxford University Press, forthcoming.
This collection, projected for completion in 2019, focuses on detailed discussion of Hensel’s musical contribution to the genre of the lied. It will contain eleven essays by music theorists and musicologists at all stages of their scholarly careers; contributors include Susan Wollenberg, Amanda Lalonde, Scott Burnham, Jennifer Ronyak, Susan Youens, Tyler Osborne, Stephen Rodgers, Harald Krebs, Yonatan Malin, Jürgen Thym, and R. Larry Todd. The essays cover a wide variety of topics, such as Hensel’s approach to particular poets and poetic themes; her harmonic, melodic, rhythmic, and textual strategies; her relationship with broader literary and musical trends; and her place in the history of nineteenth-century song.
169. Sackmann, Dominik, ed. Mendelssohn-Interpretationen. Bern: Peter Lang, 2011. 181 pp. ISBN: 9783034306010
This collection assembles papers given at the 2009 symposium “Der unbekannte Mendelssohn: Das Liedschaffen” in Zürich. Some contributions touched on not only Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s lieder but also Fanny Hensel’s; see nos. 360 and 411.
170. The Musical Quarterly 77, no. 4 (1993). ISSN: 0027–4631
This issue of The Musical Quarterly was not devoted to the Mendelssohn family exclusively (as indicated in the note from the editor), but a large portion of the material revolves around the Mendelssohns, including Fanny Hensel. See nos. 26, 91, 389, and 516.
171. Todd, R. Larry. Mendelssohn Essays. New York: Routledge, 2008. 340 pp. ISBN: 978-0-415-97814-9
This book assembles fifteen essays by Todd, who is a central figure in Mendelssohn studies in the United States. Ten of the essays are reprints of work published elsewhere, and the other five stem from conference presentations and have not otherwise been published. See nos. 281, 387, and 435.
