Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Songs Without Words And Scherzo In E Minor: Piano:

SKU: BR.EB-8032

ISBN 9790004174357. 9 x 12 inches.

In the last year of his life, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847) composed the six charming Children's Pieces, op. 72 (EB 8317). In contrast to the collections of children's pieces (by Schumann or Reger, for example), these have remained relatively unknown. Admittedly, however, they here and there demand technical and musical accomplishments that are beyond those to be expexted of beginners and belong to an intermediate stage of instruction. In the present edition, minor re-arrangements and cuts (in op. 72 no. 6) are intended to make the music more accessible to a child's understanding. The Songs without Words presented here are musically more demanding. From the total of 48 pieces, I have selected three slow compositions in which simple, beautiful melodie lines are supported by chorale-like piano textures. True performance of these pieces requires clean polyphonic chord playing and a cultivated pedal technique. The selection of pieces in this edition will, it is hoped, stimulate renewed interest in the piano music of Mendelssohn, which is so neglected today. Heinz Walter, Salzburg, Spring 1979

A Selection from 6 Children's Pieces (Op. 72) and Songs without Words.

SKU: BR.CHB-5234-02

ISBN 9790004411537. 7.5 x 10.5 inches. German.

Madame Hensel, Mendelssohn's sister, whose eyes speak intelligence and profundity''. This diary entry made by Robert Schumann in June 1843 succinctly but fittingly characterizes Fanny Hensel, without a doubt the most significant woman composer of the 19th century. Born in Hamburg on 14 November 1805, she was the eldest sister of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and the granddaughter of the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn. In 1829 she married the Prussian court painter and occasional poet Wilhelm Hensel (1794-1861). After her sudden death in Berlin on 14 May 1847 as a result of a stroke, the music journalist Ludwig Rellstab poignantly wrote that she shared the brotherhood ef talent with her famous sibling.Fanny Hensel was given the same excellent and comprehensive musical training as her precocious brother, including composition lessons with Goethe's friend Carl Friedrich Zelter. Felix and Fanny not only loved each other tenderly, but they also maintained an intensive, life-long exchange of ideas which proved musically profitable to both of them. However, it was only in 1846 that Mendelssohn gave up his resistance to Fanny's publication plans. And so, just shortly before her death, she was able to publish a carefully selected sample of her songs and piano pieces.Not only these pieces, but also a few orchestral and chamber-music works (e.g. the String Quartet in E flat major, KM 2255) and, in particular, choral music occupy an important position in her oeuvre. Most of her choral works were written in 1846, and she was able to rehearse them with the chorus she conducted at the famous Sunday Concerts in the Mendelssohn home. She had six of these choral songs published in a revised version under the title Gartenlieder Op. 3 by the Berlin music publisher Bote & Bock. The title of the Gartenlieder brings to mind Mendelssohn's well-known Lieder im Freien zu singen (Opera 41, 48, 59; ChB 4763-4780), published before 1846. But, as far as the quality of their melodic writing, the compositional technique, and the choice of texts are concerned, as well as the perfect balance between folk-like simplicity and polished design, they are as outstanding as the works of her brother.

Fanny Hensel's choral works not only stand up to comparison with any of the rich and varied choral works of the Romantic era - they also rank among the best. Very likely to become hits! (Musica).

SKU: SU.00220624

This CD Sheet Music collection on USB Flash Drive contains the wealth of solo and duo piano music by Edvard Grieg and Felix Mendelssohn. GRIEG: Lyric Suites (Books I-X), Concerto in A minor, Holberg Suite, Norwegian Folk Songs & Dances, Peer Gynt Suites (Nos. 1 & 2), Piano Pieces after His Own Songs (Series 1 & 2), Two Nordic Melodies, Two Waltz-Caprices, and more MENDELSSOHN: Allegro Brilliant, Capriccio Brillante, Caprices (Nos. 1-3), Piano Concertos (Nos. 1 & 2), Rondo Brillante, Songs Without Words (Books I-VIII), Variations Sérieuses, and more Also includes composer biographies and relevant articles from the 1911 edition of Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians 1600+ pages Published by: CD Sheet Music.