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12 character pieces for the piano
1841
Facsimile of the illustrated fair copy with
illustrations by Wilhelm Hensel
Owned by the Mendelssohn Archives at the National
Library in Berlin
128 pages, thread-stitching, 4-color print
fue 8920 ISBN 3-927327-44-1 Euro
88,00
order
German Music Publishing Price in the category „Facsimile“
The unique aesthetic design which Fanny and Wilhelm
Hensel gave their fair copy of the piano cycle ‘The Year’,
makes us suddenly aware how rigorously our usual note
editions are confined to the presentation of the mere
note text. When you open the fair copy of the piano
cycle ‘The Year’, you will not only see notes
representing tones and sounds, but also words, pictures
and colors which are supposed to relate to each other.
The fair copy is a small, private and unique work
comprising various art forms in one book, though its
main focus is unmistakably music, the character piece,
the song without words. Perhaps the combination of music,
vignettes, lyric epigraphs and colorful paper has such a
charming effect because it allows for a „multi-media“
perception that is appropriate to the genre of the lyric
piano piece, that
complements this small chamber-music form in an
unpretentious manner and „clings“ to it elegantly (not
only in a literal sense as depicted in the illustrations.“
The publishing company Furore Verlag celebrates the 200
anniversary of Fanny Hensel with a jubilee edition
featuring the facsimile print of an illustrated
autograph of Fanny Hensel’s piano cycle ‘The Year’, 12
Character Pieces for Fortepiano, which was only recently
made accessible to the public and is probably Fanny
Hensel’s most adopted work. The fair copy illustrated by
Wilhelm Hensel was purchased by the Mendelssohn Archives
in 1997, and experts have referred to it ever since as a
„magnificent“ edition (Eleonore Büning in the newspaper
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung).
And rightly so.
In addition to vignettes and an extraordinarily
beautiful notation, there is a short poetic introduction
to each month’s piece. This romantic “multi-media” work
of art made by Fanny and Wilhelm Hensel will appeal not
only to lovers of graphic beauty or people feeling at
home in the 19th century. It will also be a useful
source of inspiration and an interpretation aid for
pianists.
From the Prefaces
„When you open the fair copy of the piano cycle The Year,
you will not only see notes representing tones and
sounds, but also words, pictures and colors which
are supposed to relate to each other. The fair copy is a
small, private and unique „multi-media“ work of art in
book form, though its main focus is unmistakably music,
the character piece, the song without words. Perhaps the
combination of music, vignettes, lyric epigraphs and
colorful paper has such a charming effect because it
allows for a „multi-media“ perception that is
appropriate to the genre of the lyric piano piece, that
complements this small chamber-music form in an
unpretentious manner and „clings“ to it elegantly (not
only in a literal sense as depicted in the illustrations).“)
Christian Thorau
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Das Jahr - April
Das Jahr - Januar
Das Jahr - Juni
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