Albrecht Mendelssohn: Songs For Lena

Albrecht Mendelssohn Bartholdy was the grandson of Felix Mendelssohn. He was also a polymathic intellectual – a prestigious jurist, and political scientist. Conscious of his heritage he also wrote songs, taking texts from Eichendorff, Goethe, Heine and the folk collection Des Knaben Wunderhorn, as had Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn. These ardent love songs were inspired by his student Magdalene ‘Lena’ Schoch who, soon after her graduation, became the composer’s indispensable and trusted colleague and confidante.