Mendelssohn Brother and Sister

A hundred years of songs

The songs of Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel were largely kept hidden during her lifetime. She did not gain her brother's approval, for which she so much longed, until shortly before her death. The quality of the songs is very mixed and we have chosen three that appeal to us as performers. The songs of Francesco Tosti, born the year before both Fanny and Felix died, are very different and bridge the gap between the art songs of Verdi and the traditional music of Naples. Tosti was knighted by Queen Victoria, having taught her daughters and spent much of his life in England. This provides us with a fitting link to our third composer, one the greats of the English Musical Renaissance, Roger Quilter.

Performers

Elizabeth Charlesworth (soprano) and Hugh Finnigan (piano)

Programme

• Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (1805-1847): Three songs: Es rauscht das rote Laub (Emanuel Geibel) Das Veilchen (unknown) Der Abendstern (Janos Mailáth)
• Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847): Lied ohne Worte Opus 30 No 7 in Eb major (Andante espressivo)
• Francesco Tosti (1846-1916): Three songs: Il pescatore canta (Riccardo Mazzola) Sogno (Lorenzoti) Vorrei (Gabriele0o)
• Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte Opus 62 No 26 in Bb major (Allegro con fuoco)
• Roger Quilter (1877-1953): From Four Songs Op 14 (1, 3): Autumn Evening (Arthur Maquarie) A Last Year’s Rose (W E Henley) From Five Shakespeare Songs Op 23 (5) Hey, Ho, The Wind and the Rain (Twelfth Night)