Fanny Mendelssohn, Das Jahr, October

This piece quotes the poem “Die Spielleute” by Joseph von Eichendorff;

Im Wald, im grünen Walde,
Da ist ein lustiger Schall.

(English)
In the forest, the green forest,
There is a merry sound.

The piece begins with the sound of a horn. In the illustration by Fanny’s husband, Wilhelm Hensel, shown above, a deer is depicted; the soaring, far-reaching call of a hunting horn—interwoven with harmonies—infuses the music with a lively, joyful spirit.

 When performing this, I aim to craft a tone that is crisp, light, and brilliant, yet possesses both depth and a sense of grandeur—evoking the way a horn’s sound carries across vast, mountainous landscapes. By creating this sense of perspective, I hope to make it feel as though a beautiful vista is unfolding right before the audience's eyes.