Fanny Hensel | June (Das Jahr; 1841)

Описание: Susan Jane Matthews, piano
Recorded June 2021

Serenade for June by the German composer and pianist Fanny Hensel, geb. Mendelssohn (1805-1847) is from Das Jahr (The Year) , a mesmerizing cycle for pianoforte that reflects on the seasons of life through the months of the year, a musical calendar. Composed from August to December 1841, Fanny Hensel gave Das Jahr as a Christmas gift to her husband, the artist Wilhelm Hensel. Das Jahr was first published posthumously in 1989 based on this first version, the only manuscript available at the time. Performed here is the Serenade for June that appeared in this first 1841 version of Das Jahr, a second version replacing it in the final 1842 version. This original version includes a mesmerizing example of Fanny Hensel’s signature three-hand technique: the melody interspersed between both hands, while the right hand continues arpeggiation and the left hand the chords and bass.

June is the debut recording of St. Paul’s “new” 2004 Steinway B, anonymously donated to the church by a generous supporter of the music ministry at St. Paul’s. The piano will be dedicated in a live concert on Sunday, August 29, 2021 at 4pm. May the song of this new piano support the song that St. Paul’s lifts to God for many generations.