ABSTRACT
Josephine Lang (1815-80), one of the most prolific German composers of song of the nineteenth century, was highly respected by many of the foremost musicians of her day. Felix Mendelssohn, for example, was enthralled when he heard the sixteen-year-old Josephine sing some of her own songs, and voiced his enthusiasm in a letter to his family as follows: ‘She has the gift to compose songs and to sing them as I have never heard singing before; it is the most perfect musical pleasure that I have ever been granted ... The person who is not gripped by her recent songs must be entirely without feeling.’1 He noted that her musical education had not been handled well, and did his best to secure for her the kind of training that would enable her to make the most of her gifts. He himself gave her lessons in counterpoint and four-part writing, and attempted to arrange further training for her in Berlin – unsuccessfully, as her father was unable to bring himself to part with her. Letters from Mendelssohn to Josephine Lang and her husband reveal that he remained a supportive friend until the end of his life.2
