Fanny Hensel was a prolific composer and virtuoso pianist, born on 14 November 1805 in Hamburg. Though she died at only forty-two, she composed around 450 works, including 239 songs for solo voice and piano (Lieder)—a prodigious output that makes her one of the century’s most significant Lied composers.

Her importance in 19th-century music was only fully recognised in the 1980s with the rise of feminist musicology. While early scholarship often centred on her father and younger brother—the renowned composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy—more recent studies and performances highlight her unique contributions.

Her music reveals a distinctive voice: daring, experimental, and emotionally charged.

Hensel Songs Online is a website dedicated to Hensel’s Lieder. Across these pages, you can access all the resources you might need to study, sing, and play this diverse repertoire.

If you want to learn more about Fanny Hensel, see Angela Mace Christian’s biography in Grove Music Online.