Ex. 7-5: Gondellied

No. 6 — the last — of Fanny Mendelssohn's 6 Lieder (Op. 1), the first collection she published under her own name, in 1846. The text is "Gondoliera" by Emanuel Geibel. In it, the singer asks his love to come out to him on the water at night, under the moon and stars.

For most of her life Fanny was discouraged from publishing as a woman, and several of her songs had instead appeared under her brother Felix Mendelssohn's name. One of them, a song called "Italien," was a favorite of Queen Victoria: when Felix visited her in 1842, the Queen offered to sing it for him — and he told her it was really his sister's.

When Fanny finally published Op. 1 in 1846, Felix sent her a warm letter welcoming her into "our guild" — the world of professional composers — and wishing her success with the public. She died the following year, at 41.

Fanny had spent 1839–40 traveling in Italy, including Venice — a trip that drew her to water and gondola themes. Felix wrote gondola music too: three "Venetian Gondola Songs" for piano. The gently rocking 6/8 style, like a boat on the water, was one the two shared. Other songs from Op. 1 are also in this app. (Ex. 4-7: Schwanenlied by Fanny Mendelssohn, Ex. 5-5: Wanderlied by Fanny Mendelssohn, Ex. 1-5: Warum sind denn die Rosen so blass? by Fanny Mendelssohn, Ex. 3-5: Mayenlied by Fanny Mendelssohn)

From the album F. Mendelssohn-Hensel: Lieder, Vol. 1 by Dorothea Craxton and Babette Dorn (2009)
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